On July 4, 2018, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals reported on a testing campaign measuring bisphenols in food can coatings. The Consumer Council tested the inner coating of 13 cans of chopped tomatoes for bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7), bisphenol F (BPF, CAS 620-92-8), bisphenol S (BPS, CAS 80-09-1), and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE, CAS 1675-54-3).
Nine cans were free of bisphenols and BADGE. Four cans contained BADGE with concentrations ranging from 3.8 to 43 µg per can. Two of these cans also contained BPA at 2.9 and 4 µg per can. BPS and BPF were not found in any of the cans. The Consumer Council noted that the detected levels are below the new specific migration limit (SML) for BPA (0.05 mg/kg food) that will apply for plastic FCMs as well as varnishes and coatings starting September 6, 2018 (FPF reported). The Council further informed that in the scope of its test only the inner coating of the cans was analyzed and not the food itself. However, [“b]isphenol A can migrate from food packaging to the food,” the Consumer Council explained.
Already in 2016, the Danish Consumer Council tested canned tomatoes for the content of bisphenols in the coating (FPF reported). Back then, five of eight tested can coatings contained BPA, compared to two of 13 in 2018. “Some of the brands which in 2016 contained BPA are now free of the substance,” the Consumer Council reported, while “[o]thers now only contain BADGE but not bisphenol A.” Stine Müller, project manager at the Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals, stated: “This indicates that several companies are phasing out the use of bisphenol A in tomato cans. Good news for Danish consumers that this source of exposure to bisphenol A now appears to be reduced.”
BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) with potential adverse effects on human health (FPF reported). It has been widely used to make epoxy resin coatings for food cans.
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Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals (July 4, 2018). “Test: Bisphenol A still present in cans with tomatoes.”
Chemical Watch (July 9, 2018). “Danish study finds cans of tomatoes with BPA lining.“
