Bisphenol-A (BPA) has recently become a hot topics after the FDA issued a statement about health concerns from the possible effects on the “brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and young children.”

The chemical popularly used in food packaging, water bottles, and a variety of consumer goods is now linked to asthma, according to a new study by University of Texas researchers. BPA exposure during pregnancy could increase a child’s risk for having asthma.

In their tests on mice, researchers found higher levels of inflammation leading to asthma and allergy in offspring of mothers exposed to BPA.

“We also need to look at doing more epidemiological studies directly in humans, which is possible because BPA is so prevalent in the environment — all of us are already loaded with it to a varying extent,” the lead researcher said.