EFSA declares a food safety concern and public health alert in its latest toxicity risk assessment of the contaminant bisphenol A (BPA), published April 19, 2023.
Dietary exposure to the toxic chemical-often found in materials and articles intended to come into contact with food (MOCA)-is a serious danger to people of all ages. (1)
1) BPA, the Tolerable Daily Intake roller coaster.
‘Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) is an estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drinking water which is not added deliberately (e.g. contaminants) and which can be consumed over a lifetime without presenting an appreciable risk to health’ (EFSA).
Toxicity assessments of bisphenol A by EFSA(European Food Safety Authority) over two decades have seen extreme, more than significant, variations:
- 2003. TDI 10 mg/kg body weight,
- 2006. TDI 50 mg/kg body weight (5 times higher than previous),
- 2015. TDI 4 mg/kg body weight (12.5 times lower),
- 2023. TDI 0.2 ng/kg body weight. 2,000 times lower than the 2015 assessment, 25,000 times lower than the TDI established in 2006.
2) EFSA, 2015. Risk communication absent
EFSA’s scientific opinion on bisphenol A in 2015 had been released to the public in reassuring tones. The Authority had established a tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 4 mg/kg body weight and ruled out any risk to human health because average exposure levels in the European population would be well below that threshold. (2)
Less attention-in food safety risk communication, perhaps even in risk assessment-had been paid to gaps and uncertainties in the data collected (3,4,5). Meanwhile, research has continued, in Europe as well as in the U.S. where the National Toxicology Program ‘s two-year CLARITY-BPA (2018) study offered additional data on the toxicity of the contaminant. (6)
3) EFSA, 2021-2022. Public consultation
EFSA‘s Food Ingredients and Packaging (FIP) Unit, in 2021-2022, submitted for public consultation a new draft scientific opinion on the toxicity of bisphenol A, in view of the drastic reduction of its TDI (7,8).
The public consultation served to gather input on hazard identification and especially characterization of human health risks related to dietary exposure to BPA.
4) EFSA, 2023, Toxicity reassessment of the contaminant BPA.
The toxicity of the contaminant BPA was re-evaluated by EFSA, in 2023, with a (finally) systematic approach. A critical assessment of the relevance of all studies-including those not previously considered-led to the definition of a TDI of 0.2 ng (=0.2 billionths of a gram)/kg body weight.
5) BPA, public health alert
Comparison of the new Tolerable Daily Intake with estimates of average dietary exposure to BPA performed in 2015 leads EFSA to conclude that the tolerable daily intake is exceeded by two or three orders of magnitude (100, 1000 times) in all age groups of the European population.
The serious public health hazards associated with BPA toxicity had been identified by Anses, the French food safety authority, as early as 2013. The European Parliament had called for its ban and EFSA assessed its toxicity to the immune system in 2016. Reproductive endocrine toxicity was also known, thanks in part to ISS (Istituto Superiore di Sanità. See notes 9,10) studies. And its correlation with children’s neurobehavioral disorders has most recently emerged. (11)
Until when?
Dario Dongo and Giulia Pietrollini
Notes
(1) EFSA, European Food Safety Authority. Summary Report. Re-evaluation of the risks to public health related to the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in foodstuffs. EFSA Journal, 21(4), 6857. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.6857 19.3.23
(2) No risk from bisphenol A exposure to consumer health. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/it/press/news/150121 21.1.15 EFSA, press release. 21.1.15
(3) Marta Strinati. Bisphenol in packaging, food and urine. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 7.8.22
(4) Dario Dongo. Paper and cardboard food packaging, toxic substances in 80% of cases. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 2.2.21
(5) Dario Dongo and Marta Strinati. Chemical toxicity of food contact materials, researchers appeal. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 12.3.20
(6) National Toxicology Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CLARITY-BPA Program. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/topics/bpa/index.html 16.2.23
(7) EFSA. Public Consultation, PC-0109. Re-evaluation of the risks to public health related to the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in foodstuffs https://connect.efsa.europa.eu/RM/s/publicconsultation2/a0l1v00000E8BRD/pc0109
(8) Marta Strinati. Bisphenol A, EFSA proposes lowering the tolerable daily intake. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 19.12.21
(9) BPA toxic to reproduction. EU verdict and petition. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 23.6.17
(10) Dario Dongo and Luca Foltran. Phthalates and BPA in the human body. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.11.18
(11) Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Exposure to endocrine disruptors and neurobehavioral development of children. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 18.3.22
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in industrial biotechnology and passionate about sustainable development.
