European Food Safety Authority: No Health Risk from BPA
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The European Food Safety Authority released an opinion on Wednesday stating that bisphenol A, a chemical used in many plastics, poses no health risks.
According to the EFSA, humans can be exposed to BPA through diet, in drinking water, by inhalation, or through physical contact with products made with BPA. Some previous research has speculated that increased exposure to the chemical could cause adverse effects including neurodevelopment, cancer or infertility, among others. However, the EFSA found that exposure to BPA was “considerably under” the “tolerable daily intake.”
The agency says that high doses of BPA — hundreds of times above the tolerable daily intake — are “likely” to affect the kidney and liver, and perhaps have negative effects on mammary glands. Other health effects, including cardiovascular, nervous, reproductive, immune and metabolic system effects — and the development of cancer — were not considered likely.
However, the actual dietary exposure to BPA, the EFSA said, was four to 15 times lower than previously believed, depending on the age group involved.
Using what they believe is a typical intake of BPA, the EFSA determined that “there is no health concern for any age group from dietary exposure or from aggregated exposure.”
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