On January 29, 2015 the non-profit organization the International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec) published a news article to express their concerns related to the scientific opinion on bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7) recently released by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (FPF reported). ChemSec notes that EFSA lowered the estimated safe level of BPA, known as the tolerable daily intake (TDI), from 50 to 4 µg/kg body weight/day. Furthermore, the opinion highlights that there are considerable uncertainties in the exposure scenarios. ChemSec is concerned that the media communication of the scientific opinion had another focus. Some media outlets primarily concentrated on the portion of the report that mentions that the current threshold levels pose no threat to humans. ChemSec argues that this is rather confusing since EFSA’s recommendation is that the TDI of BPA should be reduced. This miscommunication could slow down the progress of those companies already working on phasing out BPA, ChemSec fears. Finally, ChemSec highlights that BPA is not the only problematic bisphenol. BPA alternatives, namely, bisphenol F (BPF, CAS 620-92-8) and bisphenol S (BPS, CAS 80-09-1) were added to the ChemSec’s SIN list last year due to their endocrine disrupting properties (previously reported on by the FPF). ChemSec now advises companies to be aware while replacing BPA to not change to BPF or BPS instead.
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ChemSec (January 29, 2015). “Bisphenol A far from safe.”
