FDA to Evaluate and Reconsider Bisphenol A Restrictions

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be reconsidering the safety of bisphenol A (BPA) use in food packaging and other food contact materials. The action comes after the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and a coalition of physicians, scientists, public health, and environmental organizations filed a food additive petition in January 2022 asking FDA to revoke its approvals to use BPA in adhesives and coatings, and also set strict limits on BPA use in food packaging.¹ The petition cited a publication by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that proposed reducing the allowable tolerable daily intake of BPA by 100,000 fold, from 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day, to 0.04 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day.^2,3 To further advocate for BPA restrictions, the EDF and partners submitted a supplement to their petition in April 2022 that cited a new study in Environment International that linked BPA exposure in utero to higher rates of asthma and wheezing in school-age girls.⁴ FDA will be requesting public comment on the petition soon and is required to make a final decision by October 31, 2022.

CIL offers stable isotope-labeled and native BPA standards, as well as many other bisphenol and bisphenol-related derivatives to assist researchers performing analysis of bisphenols in food, water, and environmental samples.

References

1. Groups petition FDA to restrict Bisphenol A in food packaging. Environmental Defense Fund, 2022. Read more.
2. FDA to reconsider safety of BPA in food packaging. Food Safety Tech, 2022. Read more.
3. Bisphenol A: EFSA draft opinion proposes lowering the tolerable daily intake. European Food Safety Authority, 2021. Read more.
4. In utero exposure to bisphenols and asthma, wheeze, and lung function in school-age children: a prospective meta-analysis of 8 European birth cohorts. Environment International, 2022. Read more.