Dario Prestigiacomo
Bisphenol A divides the European experts who monitor our health. This substance, used to produce consumer goods such as some types of food and drink containers, has long been under the spotlight of scientists and consumer associations because it is suspected of being harmful to humans. But the two main EU agencies, which monitor the health of European citizens and which have hit the headlines with Covid-19, have different opinions on the risks of bisphenol A. For EFSA, which deals with food safety, this molecule has harmful effects on the immune system for all age groups. The EMA, the EU medicines agency, and other European research centers, however, oppose this conclusion.
What is Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A (Bpa) is a chemical substance typically used in combination with other substances to produce plastics and resins. For example, it includes polycarbonate, a type of transparent and rigid plastic that is used to produce reusable containers for water dispensers, drinks and food storage. It is also used to produce epoxies used in interior coatings and films for cans and food and beverage containers.
France has banned its use in food contact materials, while restrictive measures for baby food containers are in force in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Austria (limited to teats). In 2018, the EU aligned itself with this group of countries by decreeing a stop to its use for baby bottles and other food and drink containers intended for children under the age of three.
The tolerable amount
The ongoing discussions and related studies concern the dose at which bisphenol A can actually be dangerous not only for children, but also for the rest of the population. Compared to the previous assessment in 2015, EFSA’s expert group has significantly lowered the tolerable daily threshold (DGT) of BPA, i.e. the amount that can be ingested daily throughout life without appreciable health risks. According to EFSA, prolonged exposure to this substance “could lead to the development of allergic pulmonary inflammation and autoimmune diseases”, and for this reason it has lowered the tolerable threshold by about 20,000 times. In the preliminary version of the proposal, put up for public consultation at the end of 2021, the proposed reduction was 100,000 times.
Experts divided
For the EMA, however, the way in which EFSA reached this conclusion would not be correct. The two agencies, EMA explained, “make use of different assessment tools, different methodologies to interpret and quantify the risk to humans have a different purpose and are based on different definitions of adversity”. The Bfr, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, also sided with the EU medicines agency, which in a note contested “the new tolerable daily threshold” of bisphenol A published by EFSA “due to various scientific and methodological divergences”. The total intake of bisphenol A in the population in Europe has been “declining for years”, says the BFR, and “EFSA has lowered the threshold mainly on the basis of observations in studies on mice”, but “the relevance of these results for human health is questionable”.
These differences complicate the work of the European Commission and the Member States, which have the task of transforming scientific advice into concrete measures. A spokesman for the Brussels executive reiterated the von der Leyen presidency’s commitment to health, which among its political priorities is to “guarantee the highest standards of food safety, including with regard to materials in contact with food “. But the Commission does not leap forward. The executive “will evaluate what further measures” to take “if necessary”, the spokesman pointed out.