7 February 2007 – The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has declared safe to consumers the use of plastics ingredient (BPA), even in food packaging, following widespread concern about its effect on reproductive systems and hormones.
EFSA scientists have re-evaluated BPA after studies showed significant differences between humans and rodents in exposure effects, notably that people metabolise and excrete BPA far faster, limiting the relevance of previous mice tests.
EFSA has now set a comprehensive rather than the existing temporary ‘tolerable daily intake’ (TDI) level, however, it has concluded that contamination of food and drinks from bottles and cans containing BPA is so slight that: “People’s dietary exposure to BPA, including that of infants and children, is estimated to be well below the new TDI”: 0.05 milligram/kg bodyweight/day.
This is actually more liberal than the previous temporary TDI of 0.01 milligram/kg/day of bodyweight, which was set deliberately low (in 2002) because of a lack of knowledge about BPA’s effects.
The substance is used to produce polycarbonate and epoxy-phenolic resins. Polycarbonate is used in infant feeding bottles; tableware (plates, mugs, jugs, beakers); microwave ovenware; storage containers; returnable water; and milk bottles, and refillable water containers. Epoxy-phenolic resins are internal protective linings for food; beverage cans and coat metal lids for glass jars and bottles; surface-coatings on residential drinking water storage tanks; and vine vats.
Meanwhile, EFSA has declared safe using polyethylene glycol as a film coating agent for food supplement products, mainly capsules. It says estimated daily intakes of these polyethylene glycols products are below previously allocated safety levels of 0-10 mg/kg bodyweight/day.
