Plastic Poison?: Bisphenol a

Plastic Poison?: "Bisphenol A has been known to be estrogenic since the mid-1930s. It is used to make polycarbonate plastic as well as dental sealants and a resin coating for food cans to separate food from metal. Exposure to BPA is widespread. It has been detected in 95% of Americans tested. Before you get into full blown panic you should know that the CDC data indicates that human exposure to bisphenol A is very low and strongly supports the conclusion that exposure to bisphenol A poses no known risk to human health"

On the other hand, Canada has concluded bisphenol A, or BPA, is a dangerous substance. Close to two billion pounds of Bisphenol A are manufactured each year in the United States. In addition to its use in some plastics, Bisphenol A is used in dental sealants and prostheses. Bisphenol A compounds are utilized as flame–retardants in glues, paper and fabrics. Below is a list of diseases and conditions that Bisphenol A is associated with.

International coalition of scientists calls for bisphenol A ban

Foodpackagingdaily: "An international group of eminent scientist has today called for the banning of bisphenol A (BPA) in food and packaging for children on precautionary grounds.
The coalition of eight experts from the UK, Italy, and the United States backed increasingly widespread demands to outlaw the chemical and use less dangerous replacements. The move is the latest evidence of growing momentum in Europe over the past six months for calls to ban the chemical. Prior to this, major campaigns against BPA were mainly being waged in North America.

“To protect vulnerable populations, we believe it would be both prudent and precautionary in public health terms if products containing BPA used for baby and children's food and liquid packaging in the UK were withdrawn,” said the scientists in a letter to the UK newspaper, the Independent. “BPA should be replaced by less hazardous substances.”

Food contact materials containing the substance should carry warning labels, they added.

But the UK Food Standard Agency said that best scientific evidence available showed that current exposure to BPA did not pose a health risk to consumers."

Denmark bans bisphenol A in food packaging for young children

Foodproductiondaily: "Denmark has introduced a temporary ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in all food contact materials for young children amid fears the chemical could inhibit brain development.

The Government decided to impose the ban for children aged 0-3 as a precautionary measure after its food safety experts raised concerns that low-level exposure to the substance may inhibit learning capacity.

From 1 July, 2010, it will be illegal to sell infant feeding bottles, feeding cups and packaging for baby food containing BPA. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries announced the three-month transition period to allow current stocks of children’s food packaging to be “marketed”."

Time for Europe to send bisphenol A into the sunset

Foodproductiondaily: "So where does this leave EFSA which has so far given no indication that it intends to depart from its long-held view over the safety of BPA? The body is a purely scientific one - detached from the political arena. But it is savvy enough to know there is a political dimension to all regulatory matters.

The international conference on BPA the body convened last month was undoubtedly a genuine attempt to consult with experts from across the region – but the meeting could also be viewed as a consensus-building exercise. Was it an acknowledgement that the agency may need all the support it can muster in the coming months as it publishes an update to its position on BPA?

The body is due to deliver that verdict in June. But whatever the agency decides, the substance may well have had its day if consumers decide the risks posed by BPA are too great. If EFSA reaffirms its faith in the substance, the plastics industry will urge opponents of the chemical to listen to and abide by the deliberations of the experts upon whose knowledge we ultimately rely.

But in the end the customer is always right and, if industry fails to listen to them, it risks winning the BPA battle but losing the war."

EFSA ::. Bisphenol A

EFSA ::. Bisphenol A: "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."

On 8 March 2010 EFSA received a further related request from the European Commission to also take into account in its risk assessment any other new scientific evidence that may be available and to liaise closely with EU Member States risk assessment bodies on this issue. On 26 March 2010 EFSA held a meeting with national experts on BPA from EU Member States, as well as members of EFSA’s scientific Panel on food contact materials, enzymes, flavourings and processing aids (CEF Panel) and representatives of the European Commission.

At the meeting with Member States, EFSA outlined the draft opinion on BPA which is currently being prepared by the CEF Panel, as well as the initial findings of its review of recent scientific literature in this area. Panel members and national experts stressed that all scientific information needs to be critically analysed to determine its relevance to the safety assessment of BPA in terms of human health. National experts were encouraged to submit any new evidence to EFSA, which will be considered when finalising the opinion. EFSA has also been in touch with other international risk assessment bodies working on BPA.

On 30 March 2010, EFSA received an urgent request from the European Commission to review scientific arguments supplied by Denmark in support of the government’s decision to ban the use of BPA in food contact materials for infants aged from 0 to 3 years. The Danish risk assessment was based mainly on the study by Stump looking at possible neurodevelopmental effects of BPA at a range of different dose levels. EFSA has responded to the Commission explaining that this study is the same as the one currently being evaluated by the CEF Panel.

EFSA aims to complete its current work on BPA by the end of May 2010. The CEF Panel will by then have had the opportunity to consider not just the Stump study, but also to more widely review the recent scientific literature and any further new evidence that may be submitted by Member States, as well as the already published risk assessments conducted in some countries. EFSA will then be in a position to give the European Commission an up-to-date overview on the safety of BPA.

Follow EFSA's lead on bisphenol A – Danish plastics body

Foodproductiondaily: "The Danish Plastics Federation (DPF) has voiced its opposition to its Government’s temporary ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials for young children and urged Ministers to abide by EFSA’s forthcoming decision on the chemical."

On March 26 the Danish Government announced its decision to outlaw use of the substance for children aged 0-3 as a precautionary measure after food safety experts from the Danish Food Institute raised concerns that low-level exposure to the substance may inhibit learning capacity. The ban is due to come into force on 1 July.

But the plastics trade body has rejected using the “precautionary principle” as a basis for establishing the ban and pointed out that it was extremely difficult for non-scientists to assess the significance of research. Nevertheless it hailed the Government’s “objective handling of food safety issues” throughout the decision-making process.

The group called on authorities to reverse its decision on banning BPA-containing materials for children if the soon-to-be-delivered verdict from European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gave the chemical the all clear.

“It is incredibly difficult for both industrialists and politicians to assess the researchers' findings and for that reason, we have strongly recommended to the parliament not to decide (on) a national ban or to work for an EU ban, without at least having knowledge of the additional assessment from the EFSA experts, as Denmark has asked for,” the DPF told FoodProductionDaily.com.

The body said that any substance shown to pose a health risk should be banned but added that regulation should be carried out “according to harmonised rules, both in Denmark and the EU”. It said it was waiting for the results of the risk assessment by the EFSA due to be completed by the end of May.

The DPF added that an EU-wide ban should be imposed if the Parma-based food safety watchdog reached the same conclusion as its Danish counterparts. But the body said it expected the Government to re-approve the use of polycarbonate in food contact materials for children if EFSA found that BPA did not pose a health risk at low doses.

French Senate backs proposal to ban BPA in baby bottles

Chemical Watch: "France may become the first EU country to ban bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby feeding bottles after its upper parliamentary house, the Senate, backed a proposal to stop the use. The ban would have to be adopted by the lower parliamentary house, the Assemble Nationale, before becoming law. The Senate said it wanted a temporary ban to be introduced until the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) has finished developing a new method for evaluating..."