Over the last few years, multiple branches of the EU government have become increasingly concerned over the potential health effects caused by bisphenols in consumer products and have begun taking action. In 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) proposed limiting the tolerable daily intake of bisphenol A (BPA) to 100,000 times less than it had previously been (FPF reported). In April 2022, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recommended that 34 bisphenols be classified as substances of very high concern (SVHCs, FPF reported). And in October 2022, Germany submitted a restriction proposal for BPA, other bisphenols, and their derivatives to a maximum concentration of 0.02% by weight for all articles made or imported into the EU (FPF reported).
All this is to say, if the trajectory continues the allowable uses of bisphenols will likely become increasingly strict, if not phased out completely. The folks at AkzoNobel Packaging Coatings are not blind to the changes. In September 2022, the company published a white paper in which it outlined how BPA has been used in can coatings for the last few decades. The paper also discusses alternatives to bisphenols, as well as case studies from regions and industries that have made the transition away from either BPA singularly or bisphenols as a class.
AkzoNobel wrote that “upwards of 75%” of European canned packaging volume would need to be converted to be bisphenol free. Thus, “the timing of the transition, therefore, will be crucial, and requires total alignment across the supply chain. We don’t want to find ourselves going through a series of expensive transitions or conversions, if the first transition is to a regrettable substitution.” They highlighted France’s 2015 ban on BPA in food contact materials (FPF reported) and that the conversion was full of rancor and took more than four years to complete (FPF reported, also here).
According to AkzoNobel, “everyone believes that removing bisphenols is the right thing to do.” But they also explain that in some cases alternatives can have technical challenges, “high‑alcohol beverages such as cider or wine, for example, are especially aggressive on the coating, and alternatives are not easy to find that have the same performance qualities.” Panelists at the Food Packaging Forum’s 2022 workshop proposed that perhaps society and industry should accept reduced performance (e.g., by shortening the shelf-life of cans from ten to two years), if this can increase chemical safety (FPF reported). However, AkzoNobel believes “packaging has advanced to the point where bisphenols of any kind are no longer required to create safe coatings.”
References
AkzoNobel Packaging Coatings (September 2022). “Material concerns: Limiting the challenges and consequences of transitioning to bisphenol-free cans.” (pdf)
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Germany (October 12, 2022). “Registry of restriction intentions until outcome: 4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol (Bisphenol A) as well as other bisphenols and bisphenol derivatives with endocrine disrupting properties for the environment.” ECHA
Coatings World (September 14, 2022). “AkzoNobel Packaging Coatings publishes paper on converting to bisphenol-free.”
