We have posted before about the BPA “controversy” egged on by lawyers seeking their next mass tort.  Now comes yet another report on BPA, from the European Food Safety Authority, confirming that the current uses of BPA, including food related uses, pose no significant health risks to consumers of any age.

BPA is a chemical compound used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic food contact materials such as re-usable plastic tableware and can coatings (mainly as protective linings). Another widespread application of BPA is in thermal paper commonly used for till/cash register receipts.

EFSA’s expert Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF) decided that the publication of a variety of new scientific research on BPA in recent years meant a full re-evaluation of the chemical was timely.

EFSA’s experts estimated the exposure to BPA from dietary and non-dietary sources, and assessed the human health risks posed by exposure to BPA. The resulting risk assessment was just published in the CEF Panel’s “Scientific Opinion on the risks to public health related to the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in foodstuffs”.

Exposure was assessed for various groups of the human population in three different ways: (1) external (by diet, drinking water, inhalation, and dermal contact to cosmetics and thermal paper); (2) internal exposure to total BPA (absorbed dose of BPA, sum of conjugated and unconjugated BPA); and (3) aggregated (from diet, dust, cosmetics and thermal paper).   BPA toxicity was evaluated by a weight of evidence approach. The CEF Panel established a temporary Tolerable Daily Intake (t-TDI) of 4 μg/kg bw per day. By comparing this t-TDI with the exposure estimates, the CEF Panel concluded that there is no health concern for any age group from dietary exposure or from aggregated exposure. The opinion echoes a similar pronouncement last year by the Food and Drug Administration.