In an article published on November 30, 2015 the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC) announced that its Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) has developed fit-for-purpose analytical methods for determination of bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7) and 12 BPA-analogues in complex food matrices. In food contact materials (FCMs), BPA is mainly used in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy-based coatings in metal cans. In January 2015, France has banned the use of BPA in all FCMs (FPF reported) and Member States Denmark, Sweden and Belgium have restricted its use in FCMs intended for children. Thus, there is need for suitable BPA replacements. However, the chemical structure of many alternative substances is close to BPA and little is known about their occurrence in food. The newly developed analytical methods allow detection below microgram per kilogram level and enable generation of reliable monitoring data.
On November 19, 2015 the EC published a roadmap proposing different EU-wide measures for regulation and restriction of BPA in FCMs (FPF reported). The roadmap is open for public consultation until December 17, 2015.
Read more
JRC (November 30, 2015). “JRC develops methods for measuring bisphenol A and its replacing substances in food.”
Emma Stoye (December 2, 2015). “BPA detection tests developed for EU monitoring.” Chemistry World
References
Regueiro, J. et al (2015). “Derivatization of bisphenol A and its analogues with pyridine-3-sulfonyl chloride: multivariate optimization and fragmentation patterns by liquid chromatography/Orbitrap mass spectrometry.” Rapid Communication in Mass Spectrometry 29(16):1473–1484.
Regueiro, J. & Wenzl, T. (2015). “Development and validation of a stable-isotope dilution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of bisphenols in ready-made meals.” Journal of Chromatography A 1414:110–121.
Regueiro, J. & Wenzl, T. (2015). “Determination of bisphenols in beverages by mixed-mode solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry” Journal of Chromatography A 1422:230-238.
