News
Bisphenol A toxicity has been assessed by various international bodies and many reports and scientific articles have been published on the subject. In 2006, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an opinion on bisphenol A toxicity, which set a tolerable daily intake (1) of 0.05mg of bisphenol A per kg of body weight.
For this opinion, EFSA also assessed the exposure of consumers, including infants, to the migration of bisphenol A in food in contact with tins, crockery or containers made with polycarbonate (the manufacture of which includes bisphenol A).
For this assessment, EFSA considered a maximum amount transferable to food of 50 µg of bisphenol A per litre of drink in baby bottles, which is deemed to be very safe in view of the values obtained in tests. The conclusions of EFSA's work indicate that, for all of the population groups studied, the exposure estimates were 30% less than the TDI. The maximum intake of bisphenol A is therefore much lower than the maximum acceptable intake in toxicological terms. However, these exposure estimates do not take account of the potential migration of bisphenol A in food being heated in the microwave.

Following the Canadian government's announcement of its intention to ban baby bottles made from rigid plastic (polycarbonate, the manufacture of which uses bisphenol A), Afssa was requested on 5 May 2008 by the Directorate General for Health to:
- consider the transferable amounts of bisphenol A to food during the heating of polycarbonate baby bottles in the microwave
- state if it is necessary to change the conditions for using bisphenol A in food contact materials or provide for special precautions for using materials that are likely to be heated

The bibliographical work carried out by Afssa indicates that when the contents of polycarbonate baby bottles are heated in the microwave under realistic conditions (heating time less than 10 minutes), the amounts of bisphenol A transferable to food are very low, and stay far short of the maximum migration value adopted by EFSA for its exposure calculation.
The literature review carried out by Afssa also indicates that the hardness (2) of water or traces of washing up liquid are factors that aid the transfer of bisphenol A from polycarbonate containers. However, these transfers are also much lower than the maximum value adopted by EFSA.
As a result, the conclusions of EFSA's 2006 opinion still apply to the specific cases of heating polycarbonate baby bottles in the microwave and do not justify any special conditions of use.

What is bisphenol A?

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that has been used for many years as a monomer for manufacture by polymerising polycarbonate-type plastics and epoxy resin-based coatings. BPA is also known under its chemical form, 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) propane. Polycarbonate, a rigid and transparent plastic, is used in many food containers such as recyclable drink bottles, baby bottles, crockery (plates and cups) and storage containers. BPA is also found in epoxy resins, used as an inside coating in cans and tins. Epoxy resins are also used in water mains (pipe and tank coatings).

Like in other countries (United States and Japan for example), BPA is authorised in the European Union for use in food contact materials.


(1) The tolerable daily intake is the amount of substance which may be ingested daily by the consumer without harmful effects for his/her health.
(2) Variable levels of certain ions in water, particularly calcium and magnesium


Pour en savoir plus

>Avis du 24 octobre 2008 relatif au bisphénol A dans les biberons en polycarbonate susceptibles d'être chauffés au four à micro-ondes (Opinion of 24 October 2008 on bisphenol A in polycarbonate baby bottles likely to be heated in the microwave)

> Consumer packs: How should baby bottles be prepared and stored?

Bisphénol A, impact of microwave heating
13 November 2008
Homepage
Marquer cette page
Version française
English version
Rechercher sur le site
Expand All | Collapse All
Consumer packs: how should baby bottles be prepared and stored?  Rechercher sur le site