The EU Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante) hosted a webinar and question period on July 18, 2023, following up on their recent announcement to ban the intentional use of bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7), and potentially several other bisphenols targeted by other EU agencies including bisphenol S (CAS 80-09-1), bisphenol F, and 2,2-bis(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methylpentane (CAS 6807-17-6), in food contact materials (FCMs) in the European Union (FPF reported).
Jonathan Briggs of DG Sante reviewed the considerations that went into the decision to ban the substance and elaborated on what will take place next. The ban will enter into force in early 2024 with an 18-month transition period. Consequently, the BPA-containing FCMs won’t effectively be banned from the market until late 2025 or early 2026, and extensions for some material uses may yet be granted.
The ban will only apply to “intentionally added” BPA but what is “intentional use” has not yet been fully defined. Briggs noted that initially, recycled products will likely contain BPA, but the hope is that as the source materials phase out intentionally used BPA the recycled material contamination will also go down.
DG Sante does not predict major impacts on plastic FCMs but for “varnishes and coatings the story is somewhat different.” The shift away from BPA is anticipated to affect the shelf life, cost, and energy consumption of coated products like some canned goods or lids. BPA is also sometimes found in inks, adhesives, and rubbers. Because “some applications will take longer than others” to transition (e.g., some acidic foods in coated metal packaging; heavy-duty coating on large vessels and containers), industry can apply by September 15, 2023, to extend the phase-out period.
Briggs stated that “efforts should be made to identify sources that contribute the greatest to human exposure and to address those over time.” In the EU, bisphenol A has been banned in polycarbonate baby bottles since 2011, expanded to all products for infants and toddlers since 2018, and in thermal receipts since 2020.
The first studies showing BPA’s estrogenic activity were published in the 1930s (FPF dossier BPA). Briggs explained that all bisphenols to be included in the ban had been identified Reproductive Toxicants 1B under the EU’s CLP regulation (BPA, BPS, 2,2-bis(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methylpentane) or were under investigation for their toxicity like BPF which may also be included in the ban.
The final regulation will be available for comment starting mid to late September 2023 for four weeks.
Update
On August 4, 2023, DG Sante published a document going into further detail and answering common questions.
Reference
DG Sante (July 18, 2023). “Webinar on an EU ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials (FCMs).” European Commission (pdf).
DG Sante (August 4, 2023). “Questions and answers (Q&A) concerning the risk management approach for bisphenol A (BPA) and other bisphenols in food contact materials (FCMs).” (pdf).
Read more
Dodds EC, and Lawson W (1938). “Molecular structure in relation to oestrogenic activity. Compounds without a phenanthrene nucleus.” Proc R Soc Lond B.
Dodds EC, and Lawson W (1936). “Synthetic oestrogenic agents without the phenanthrene nucleus.” Nature.
EFSA (April 19, 2023). “Bisphenol A in food is a health risk.”
