Bisphenol A

What is Bisphenol A?

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to manufacture certain plastics and resins. Most notably, manufacturers use BPA in polycarbonate, which is a type of rigid plastic used to make food containers, such as reusable beverage bottles, plates and mugs, and storage containers. When used in food packaging, BPA extends shelf life and protects food from contamination and spoilage. Manufacturers also use BPA to produce epoxy resins, used to create linings and protective coatings for food and beverage vats and cans.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Bisphenol A for use in the 1960s. In the years since, concerns about the safety of BPAs grew among consumer groups and scientists, even as BPAs became one of the highest volume chemicals produced worldwide.

Why should you be concerned about bisphenol A?

Small amounts of BPA can migrate from containers into the food and beverages. The chemical can also leach into food and water supplies.

Once inside the human body, BPA acts as an endocrine disruptor. In other words, BPA can imitate the body’s hormones and interfere with the body’s production, secretion and transport, function, and eventual elimination of the body’s natural hormones. Research showed BPA could affect egg maturation, puberty and ovulation in women, and increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and problems with sexual desire and ejaculation in men.

Other hazards associated with BPA exposure include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, and asthma. BPA exposure can also negatively affect fetal brain development.

What are legislators doing about Bisphenol A?

Many national and local governments are taking steps to ban or regulate the use of BPA in the products made or sold within their jurisdictions. In January 2011, for example, the European Commission prohibited the use of bisphenol A in the manufacture of polycarbonate infant feeding bottles. In the following years, the European Union (EU) rolled out stricter limits under Regulation (EU) no. 2018/213 on BPA in food contact materials.

Each nation in North America takes a different regulatory approach when it comes to BPA. Canada protects newborns and babies from exposure to BPA under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, which makes it illegal to manufacture, import, advertise or sell polycarbonate baby bottles that contain bisphenol A. The FDA amended its food additive regulations for BPA’s use in sippy cups and baby bottles in December of 2012 and in infant formula containers in 2013. Like most of the world’s developing countries, Mexico has no regulatory policies when it comes to BPA.

Prompted by consumer concerns and scientific interest, the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research investigated the safety of BPA. After reviewing the research results, the FDA announced the “current approved uses of BPA in food containers and packaging are safe.”

Despite lack of regulations by the federal government, individual municipalities and states have taken action. In 2009, Suffolk County, New York, became the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to regulate BPA in beverage containers intended for use by children under the age of three. A number of legislative bodies have since regulated the use of BPA in a variety of consumer products, particularly those designed and intended as food contact materials and articles for youngsters. Later that year, for example, Minnesota became the first state to ban BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups; in 2013, the state’s leaders banned the use of BPA in food containers intended for use in children and infants younger than three years.

Connecticut passed the broadest ban on BPA in the nation in 2009, prohibiting its use in recyclable containers, baby bottles, and infant formula containers. The state then passed the first ban on BPA in thermal receipt paper in 2011, and in 2013, banned the use of BPA in food containers intended for use in children and infants younger than three years. Maryland banned BPA in baby bottles in 2012 and infant formula containers in 2013.

Why choose a Eurofins company for BPA Testing?

To comply with this patchwork of regulations, manufacturers must be able to prove that their products meet BPA guidelines. We maintain state-of-the-art facilities built specifically for efficient sample processing and compliant testing environment, which helps manufacturers offer a wide variety of products that meet safety standards for bisphenol A.