EFSA study finds “no consumer health risk from Bisphenol A exposure”

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has today published its final scientific opinion on the safety of Bisphenol A (BPA), concluding that it poses “no health risk to consumers of any age group at current exposure levels”.

The EFSA conclusion is consistent with the recent clear statement confirming the safety of BPA in food contact materials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many other government bodies, for example Health Canada, have also evaluated the scientific evidence on BPA and reached similar conclusions.

Applying a comprehensive weight-of-evidence approach to all relevant studies on BPA, and using a more refined methodology, EFSA’s scientific experts have set a lifetime safe intake level, known as the tolerable daily intake (TDI). Notably, the safe level conservatively takes into account remaining uncertainties about potential health effects of BPA. Considering all sources of exposure together, the expert panel concluded: “BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age group.”

It is anticipated that EFSA will revisit the TDI, which is currently designated as temporary, to incorporate the results of ongoing US governmental studies, which were designed to resolve remaining uncertainties about the safety of BPA.

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has issued a statement to say it “fully supports” the findings of the EFSA review and its conclusions, which provide an “authoritative approval of the continued safe use of products produced using Bisphenol A.”

Sarah Plant, Public & Industrial Affairs Manager at the BPF commented: “The Bisphenol A issue has become highly politicised in recent years and in some countries has become divorced from the reality and nature of its use. The EFSA’s ruling on the safety of BPA provides a solid endorsement which should set consumers’ minds at ease.”

Jasmin Bird, speaking on behalf of the PC/BPA Group of Plastics Europe added: “In light of EFSA´s conclusions, the current French restriction on BPA is disproportionate and should be withdrawn. The fact that any realistic exposure to BPA is well below even the conservative safety threshold established by EFSA shows that blanket restrictions being applied at national level, in particular in France, are unjustified. This EFSA conclusion on BPA should be used as the basis for consistent and harmonised European food safety regulation, and should be respected by all EU Member States.”