Is Bisphenol A used in food packaging safe and how is it regulated?

Small amounts of BPA can migrate from polycarbonate plastics or epoxy resin linings into foods and beverages. BPA can also migrate into foods if the plastic or resin is damaged or breaks down. BPA use in food packaging has been extensively tested and recognised as safe at current exposure levels by public health authorities (the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food in 2002, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2007, and the U.K. Food Standards Agency in 2001). It has been used in consumer products for over 40 years and is permitted for use in food contact materials in the European Union and in other countries such as the USA and Japan.

In 2007, the EFSA scientific panel AFC called for a permanent setting of a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI*) level for BPA, which is based on extensive scientific evidence collected since the last evaluation in 2002. According to the EFSA statement, "people's dietary exposure to BPA including that of infants and children, is estimated to be well below the new TDI." It is important to remember that food packaging serves an important safety purpose in protecting foods from pathogens or other contaminants.

*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.

Related Information
1) EPA Statement Regarding Endocrine Disruptor Low-Dose Hypothesis, March 26, 2002 (http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/oscpendo/docs/edmvs/lowdosepolicy.pdf)

2) NTP Report of the Endocrine Disruptor Low Dose Peer Review, August 1, 2001
(http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/liason/LowDosePeerFinalRpt.pdf)

3) European Commission Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on Bisphenol A (http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out128_en.pdf)

4) UK Food Standards Agency Statement on a Survey of Bisphenols in Canned foods (http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/bisphenols.pdf)

5) European Food Safety Authority Statement regarding the re-evaluation of BPA safety, January 29, 2007 (http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/science/afc/afc_opinions/bisphenol_a.html)

6) European Food Safety Authority Fact Sheet on BPA, February 26, 2007 (http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press_room/questions_and_answers/faq_on_bisphenol_a.html)

7) Meeting Summary, National Toxicology Program, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, Expert Panel Evaluation of Bisphenol A (http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/draftBPA_MtgSumm080807.pdf)

8) Ausgewählte Fragen und Antworten zu Bisphenol A in Babyfläschchen. Aktualisierte FAQ vom 29. Januar 2007 (http://www.bfr.bund.de/cd/7195)