About Bisphenol A

 

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a key industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic, epoxy resins and other products. Following the four-step procedure recommended by the United States National Academy of Sciences (NRC, 1983), a safety assessment of BPA concludes that the potential human exposure to BPA from food contact with polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin is minimal and poses no known risk to human health. This conclusion is based on the following key points:

1. BPA is not carcinogenic and does not selectively affect reproduction or development. The No-Observed-Adverse- Effect-Level (NOAEL) for BPA, confirmed in multiple laboratory animal tests, is 50 mg/kg body weight per day;
2. The estimated dietary intake of BPA from food contact with polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin, based on the results of multiple migration studies with consistent results, is less than 0.000118 mg/kg body weight/day; and
3. This potential human exposure to BPA is more than 400 times lower than the maximum acceptable or "reference" dose for BPA of 0.05 mg/kg body weight per day established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is derived from the No-Observed-Adverse- Effect-Level.

An independent analysis by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF), using a similar methodology, has confirmed the safety of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin food contact applications. The SCF estimated total dietary intake of BPA from all food contact sources to be in the range of 0.00048 to 0.0016 mg/kg body weight per day, which is below the Tolerable Daily Intake set by the SCF of 0.01 mg/kg body weight per day.

The use of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins for food contact applications has been and continues to be recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the Japanese Ministry for Health, Labor and Welfare, and other regulatory authorities worldwide.

Source : www.bisphenol-a.org