Warning: Chemicals in the packaging, surfaces or contents of many products might cause long-term health effects, including cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other reproductive system defects; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism. A decade ago, the government promised to test these chemicals. It still hasn’t.

The foot dragging continues at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency last week decided to “continue our review and study of emerging data on BPA.”

That’s a mistake. A better decision: Begin phasing out the chemical from all food products.

While groups sympathetic to industry interests praised this non-regulating regulator, critics were harsh in their criticism.

“The next decision the FDA should make is to remove ‘responsible for protecting the public health’ from its mission statement,” said Jane Houlihan, senior vice president for research of the Environmental Working Group. “It’s false advertising. Allowing a chemical as toxic as BPA, and linked to so many serious health problems, to remain in food means the agency has veered dangerously off course.”

We wouldn’t go quite that far, but it’s clear to us that the FDA has been slow to realize the implications of long-term exposure to bisphenol A, which is found in hardened plastics, the lining of cans, dental sealants and many other products.

We continue to believe the independent research that warns of BPA’s risks provides ample reason to ban the chemical. We also agree, though, that there is a risk in moving too fast. Any ban of the chemical would have to be phased in so that food processors had ample time to find substitutes.