A comprehensive review of recent studies into a chemical often used in plastics and resins has revealed that the average American is exposed to levels of the dangerous compound that are 5,000 times higher than what the European Union now considers safe.
The main exposure route for bisphenol-A (BPA) is via plastic and metal food packaging, and that has prompted a call for strong new limits on its use.
In a petition sent last week to the US Food and Drug Administration, consumer advocates and food safety scientists led by the Environmental Defense Fund warned that the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) December review clearly shows that BPA exposure levels in the US represent a “high health risk” for Americans of all ages.
“The FDA has an obligation to protect us from toxic chemicals that can come in contact with our food,” said Maricel Maffini, a petition co-author. “These new findings should be a wakeup call to the FDA and all of us that our health is in jeopardy unless we take swift action to limit the amount of BPA that can come into contact with our food.”
The chemical mimics estrogen and is linked to a range of serious health problems, including cancer, immunotoxicity, neurological toxicity, mammary gland disease, behavioral changes and decreased sperm counts, among others.
Male and female brains in mammals are physically different, and Maffini noted a study that found BPA exposure altered male brains to look more like female brains. EFSA’s research pointed to evidence suggesting harm from BPA exposure can occur at levels 100,000 times lower than previously thought, and scientists have found immune system disruptions occur at particularly low levels.
“What we are seeing now is that the levels that we thought were safe – they don’t seem to be safe, and the levels that we identify as causing problems in the immune system are incredibly low,” Maffini said.
In food packaging, BPA is typically used to line metal cans to prevent corrosion, though plenty of safer alternatives exist, Maffini said. It’s also mixed into polycarbonate plastic, which is a clear, shatterproof material used in multi-use water bottles, containers that hold pre-prepared foods or containers used to hold ingredients during food prep, among other uses. The petition asks that those applications be prohibited.
The FDA has 180 days to respond to the petition, though it can take longer on complex issues, Maffini said. Consumer groups’ petitions have led to some success in recent years. The FDA agreed with a 2016 petition led by the Environmental Defense Fund to ban the use of long-chain PFAS in food packaging, though it has yet to respond to a 2021 petition to ban all PFAS. A 2015 EDF-led petition to prohibit seven carcinogenic food flavorings resulted in the FDA banning the substances in 2018.
However, the FDA’s science and position on BPA has often been at odds with that of academic scientists, consumer advocates, the US National Toxicology Program, and the FDA’s own advisory committees, Maffini said.
While those groups have consistently found BPA to present a dangerous health threat, the FDA has downplayed the dangers and often relied on inadequate scientific methods to arrive at its conclusions, Maffini said.
However, the FDA banned BPA from baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula packaging in 2012. The agency said in a statement that it doesn’t comment on pending petitions.