EFSA maintains bisphenol A is safe, Denmark disagrees

Bisphenol A is safe: EFSA

The European Union's Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced that it would not reduce or take any action to reduce or ban bisphenol A, a chemical widely used in plastic and food safety applications.

Both Denmark and France have maintained their own bans on bisphenol A, despite the EFSA announcement. France outlawed the substance in polycarbonate baby bottles earlier this year.

"The Danish ban was temporary because we were waiting for EFSA to provide new data that would remove these uncertainties. The EFSA opinion did not do this and therefore the ban will not be lifted in the near future," said Krestine Greve, a biochemist for the Danish food ministry.

"If the Commission imposes a Europe-wide ban on BPA in food contact materials for children aged three and under, Denmark will lift its unilateral ban. If the Commission does not do this, Denmark's ban will remain in place until such time as scientific evidence proves BPA is safe in at low doses."

"Our ban is based on a study which, according to Danish experts, shows uncertainty about the effects of even small doses of bisphenol A on the learning ability in young rats. So I stick to the temporary Danish ban," said Danish Minister of Food Henrik Høegh.

The EFSA confirmed that there is no new evidence to suggest the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for bisphenol A needs to be changed as it reconfirmed that current levels of exposure pose no threat to human health.

"Following a detailed and comprehensive review of recent scientific literature and studies on the toxicity of bisphenol A at low doses, scientists on the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) CEF[1] Panel conclude they could not identify any new evidence which would lead them to revise the current Tolerable Daily Intake for BPA of 0.05 mg/kg body weight set by EFSA in its 2006 opinion and re-confirmed in its 2008 opinion," the EFSA notes.

"Even human premature infants can metabolise and excrete BPA efficiently (via glucuronidation and sulfation), as supported by recent human data and data in young monkeys. The use of the standard uncertainty factor (UF) of 10 to take into account interspecies differences is therefore considered quite conservative."

Despite clearing the substance, the EFSA did acknowledge that there was dissent among some of its 21-member CEF panel. As a result, the current TDI level will be reviewed and is temporary.

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