EFSA sets safe intake limit for Bisphenol A
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has established the maximum daily human intake for Bisphenol A or BPA, a chemical found in many household plastics. Based on what it calls 'robust' scientific evidence, EFSA concluded that that the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of five milligram/kg body weight/day identified in the previous evaluation in 2002, remains valid. BPA is a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic products such as reusable plastic food and drink containers, baby bottles, coatings of cans for food products, compact disks, sports safety equipment and many common household products. Concerns were raised when the chemical was found to have migrated in small amounts into foods and beverages stored in materials containing the substance. When tested on rodents, scientists found that the small doses of the chemical, which belongs to a group of chemicals termed 'hormone disruptors' or 'endocrine disruptors', could cause harmful effects. Male mice exposed in the womb to low levels of BPA were shown to have increased prostate weights, and decreased daily sperm production. Furthermore, scientists found that BPA could cause greater effects at low dose levels than at higher doses. However, new studies have shown significant differences between humans and rodents, such as the fact that people metabolise and excrete BPA from their system far more quickly than rodents, further limiting the relevance for human risk assessment of the low-dose effects of BPA found in the rodent studies. Studies have also shown that mice are particularly sensitive to oestrogens. Given that BPA mimics oestrogen, the absence of adverse effects at 5 milligram/kg body weight and below in a new study on mice (and two generations of their offspring) adds further confidence to the risk assessment, claims EFSA.