European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is mainly used in combination with other chemicals to manufacture plastics and resins. For example, BPA is used in polycarbonate, a high performance transparent, rigid plastic. Polycarbonate is used to make food containers, such as returnable beverage bottles, infant feeding (baby) bottles, tableware (plates and mugs) and storage containers. Residues of BPA are also present in epoxy resins used to make protective coatings and linings for food and beverage cans and vats. BPA can migrate in small amounts into food and beverages stored in materials containing the substance.

BPA is permitted for use in food contact materials in the European Union, under Commission Directive 2002/72/EC of 6 August 2002 relating to plastic materials and articles intending to come into contact with foodstuffs. It is also permitted for food contact use in other countries such as the USA and Japan.

EFSA role and ongoing work

In its risk assessment on BPA published in January 2007, EFSA set a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of 0.05 milligram/kg body weight (bw) for this substance. The TDI is an estimate of the amount of a substance, expressed on a body weight basis that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable risk. EFSA found that intakes of BPA through food and drink were well below the TDI, even for infants and children.

In an opinion published in July 2008, EFSA addressed the difference between infants and adults in clearing BPA from the body. Results confirmed that exposure to BPA was well below the TDI of 0.05 mg/kg bw for both adults and newborns. Indeed, after exposure to BPA the human body rapidly metabolises and eliminates the substance. Newborns can similarly clear BPA at levels far in excess of the TDI. In its evaluation, EFSA took into account both the previous and the most recent information and data available, both from industry and from peer-reviewed scientific literature.

In September 2008 the European Commission asked EFSA to assess the conclusions of a study by Lang et al. published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, 16 September 2008) that suggested a link between raised levels of urinary BPA to increased occurrence of serious medical conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.

In a statement published in October 2008, EFSA noted that the study included no information on long term exposure to BPA, which would be important in order to establish a correlation between BPA and the development of the chronic medical conditions in question. EFSA found that the study did not provide sufficient proof of a causal link between BPA and these health conditions and did not therefore bring into question the established TDI.

On 15 October 2009, EFSA received a request from the European Commission to assess the relevance of a new study on possible neurodevelopmental effects of BPA and, if necessary, to update the existing TDI accordingly. The study in question was commissioned by the American Chemistry Council to address safety concerns raised by the Canadian government, which has introduced legislation to ban the use of polycarbonate in baby feeding bottles. EFSA aims to complete its evaluation by May 2010, in line with the deadline set by the Commission.

• CEF requests and mandates