Bisphenol A (BPA) and why you should care

8th December 2010

Recently while reading the New Scientist (edition 23 Oct 2010), I was reminded of a substance called bisphenol A (BPA) - and the politicians inability to move ahead with legislation that would better protect the consumers from consuming the substance with food. For those not familiar with the term, BPA is a synthetic estrogen used in the production of a hard and transparent form of polycarbonate plastic used to create food and drink containers and other consumer goods. It can also be found in metal food cans.

But why should you care?

Well, according to research we are so constantly exposed to BPA that up to 95% of us excrete BPA metabolites in our urine at any given time. It is true that we excrete at any given time also other chemicals to which we are constantly exposed, but BPA has some particular risks related to it. Even though the first risks related to BPA came to light already in the 1930's, the number of safety tests has increase only in the recent years, and in the laboratory environment, the following risks have been identified:

- Permanent changes to genital tract (2005)

- Changes in breast tissue that predispose cells to hormones and carcinogens (2005)

- Long-term adverse reproductive and carcinogenic effects (2009)

- Increased prostate weight 30% (1997)

- Signs of early puberty (2002)

- Decline in testicular testosterone (2004)

- Breast cells predisposed to cancer (2007)

- Prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer (2006)

- Decreased maternal behaviors (2002)

- Reversed the normal sex difference in brain structure and behavior (2003)

- Disrupts ovarian development (2009)

The human studies have additionally found that babies fed with formula are at high risk of BPA exposure, and some countries like Switzerland have subsequently banned usage of BPA in baby bottles. However, little is done to protect the rest of the consumers from the substance. Most recently in 2010 European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) decided against lowering the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of BPA, stating "no new study could be identified, which would call for a revision of the current TDI". This decision has left the consumers wondering, whose interests the politicians are looking after, food industry or the consumers, as the scientific community seems to agree that the risk created by BPA is real.

Again, we can take the lead in our daily lives and avoid prepackaged foods and drinks as much as we can, packed both in plastic and/or metal cans.