The European Food Safety Authority released a new assessment today that would likely force bisphenol-A, or BPA, out of products that come into contact with food in Europe.
Current BPA exposure limits, according to a proposal under consideration by European regulators, vastly underestimate the harm caused by the plastic additive to human health.
The new exposure threshold should be 20,000 times lower than the current level, according to the revised rules.
The European Food Safety Authority released a new assessment today that would likely force bisphenol-A, or BPA, out of products that come into contact with food in Europe.
Maricel V. Maffini, an environmental consultant, said the new safe level is so low that it will drive and accelerate changes in the supply chain. The new safe level is so low that it will drive and accelerate changes in the supply chain.
The new risk assessment and recommended daily dose of BPA is in line with current science and is in stark contrast to U.S. regulations.
The U.S. safe daily exposure level for BPA is 250,000 times higher than the new European recommendation. The new risk assessment provides scientific evidence that makes it urgent for FDA and other agencies to act to reduce the levels of exposure.
EHN questioned the FDA about the discrepancy between BPA safety assessments made by U.S. and European regulatory bodies as well as why that exposure level hasn’t changed in 35 years. An email response from a spokesperson stated, “The FDA has supported research and reviewed the safety of BPA uses in food packaging as it has become available.”
“The FDA’s regulatory decisions are supported by a thorough assessment of the entirety of the science that is currently available on food additives, including compounds used in food packaging.”
According to the European Food Safety Authority, the majority of people, including children, have more than a hundred times the new daily dose of BPA in their blood.
BPA disrupts the way our hormones work because it is an endocrine disruptor. The substance has been linked to a variety of health issues, such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, effects on the nervous and immune systems, and behavioural issues.
It is still a crucial component of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastic, which is used to make Tupperware, food can liners, and other food packaging. Such packaging allows the chemical to escape and enter our food.
The European Food Safety Authority estimates that most people, including infants and toddlers, have more than a hundred times more BPA in their blood than their new recommended daily dose. Academic scientists and health advocates have called into question how BPA and other endocrine disruptors are regulated.
Most federal agencies subscribe to the concept that “the dose makes the poison,” but for chemicals like BPA, low doses and high doses can have different effects. Europe’s new assessment recognizes this.
Today’s assessment, which included a broad range of human and animal studies, represents the latest European move on BPA. In 2015, the European Food Safety Authority set a temporary “tolerable daily intake” of 4 parts per billion of body weight, which is 12 times lower than the U.S. level of 50 ppb.\
In 2021, the European Food Safety Authority recommended slashing the allowable daily dose to 0.00004 ppb of body weight per day, a 100,000-fold drop. Today’s assessment revises that recommendation up to a 0.0002 ppb tolerable daily intake, but still represents a 20,000-fold drop from Europe’s current allowable levels.
The new exposure limits will be broken by even a tiny amount of BPA, such as that found in a soda bottle’s cap, for example.
If we want to avoid negative health effects, Europe basically says we shouldn’t have any BPA in our products. The evaluation made public today will be reviewed by the European Commission, which will ultimately decide whether to change the permissible BPA levels.
The European Food Safety Authority reviewed new studies on BPA since 2013, and highlighted the CLARITY-BPA Core Study, a U.S. research effort to bridge the gap between FDA scientists and environmental health advocates.
The CLARITY project was a well-meaning effort to reduce the use of BPA, but it didn’t work out as planned.
Academics found BPA had a profound impact on health endpoints, but the FDA didn’t consider them and put out a 2018 report stating the current uses of BPA remain safe. Environmental Health News investigated and found that the FDA often sought to discredit independent evidence of harm from BPA while favoring pro-industry science.
European researchers used academic contributions to CLARITY to show evidence of harm to thyroid, pituitary and adrenal glands, bone marrow, kidneys and livers. Maffini also noted that the immune system is the most sensitive to BPA toxicity.
Pete Myers, chief scientist for Environmental Health Sciences, has been following the BPA saga since Fred vom Saal’s research first appeared in the early 1990s.The European Food Safety Authority’s estimates of BPA safety are consistent with the work of 18 independent investigators in the CLARITY-BPA mega-study.
However, the U.S. FDA’s conclusions are significantly different from the findings of the independent scientists, funded by the National Institutes of Health. This suggests that the FDA is working for the public or the chemical industry.
A group of physicians, scientists, and health organisations petitioned the U.S. FDA to review the safety of BPA in food packaging following Europe’s recommended reduction of BPA allowable doses last year.
The FDA acknowledged receipt of the petition last summer, which requires them to conduct an evaluation before deciding whether to adopt its recommendations or not. This evaluation has not yet taken place.
The FDA is currently reviewing a BPA petition received in September 2022. Maffini, who submitted the petition, said the European Food Safety Authority risk assessment confirming that BPA is toxic to the immune system at extremely low levels should give the FDA a greater sense of urgency to act on the petition. The FDA will publish their response to the petition in the Federal Register once they have completed their review.