European Commission launches feedback platform on BPA in food packaging

16 Feb 2024 --- The European Commission (EC) is preparing a measure to ban bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials and recently launched a four-week feedback period for a possible ban of the chemical in food packaging, following the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) opinion on the risks to public health from dietary exposure to BPA.

A spokesperson at the authority tells us that any legislative proposal related to BPA is the remit of the risk managers, including the EC, the European Parliament and member states. “EU lawmakers from the EC and national authorities are responsible for setting limits on the amount of a chemical that may migrate from food packaging into food, including any proposals to phase it out.”

Meanwhile, an EC spokesperson tells Packaging Insights that ensuring the highest possible food safety standards, “including when it comes to chemicals used in Food Contact Materials, is a key priority for the Commission.”

Assessing health risks
The European lawmakers will discuss appropriate regulatory measures to protect consumers based on EFSA’s scientific advice.

European lawmakers will discuss BPA regulatory measures based on EFSA’s scientific advice.“EFSA’s assessments are based on the latest scientific knowledge and evidence. On BPA, EFSA scrutinized a vast quantity of scientific publications, including over 800 new studies. This allowed us to address important uncertainties about BPA’s toxicity,” stresses the EFSA spokesperson.

“We carried out an extensive scientific assessment of the evidence to come to this conclusion and took into account input from a public consultation. We detected potentially harmful health effects on the immune system. BPA presents a health risk related to the potential development of allergic lung inflammation and autoimmune disorders.”

“Our experts also took into account other potentially harmful health effects on the reproductive, developmental and metabolic systems identified in the risk assessment,” says the EFSA spokesperson.

Packaging exposure
BPA can migrate in tiny amounts into the contents of the containers.

“This is why it is called ‘leachable.’ BPA may also be present in primary packaging material and manufacturing equipment used in the manufacturing process of medicines, in medicine containers, medicine or device combinations, and, for example, blood bags and bags with parenteral nutrition,” explains the EC spokesperson.

“EFSA scrutinized a vast quantity of scientific publications and detected potentially harmful health effects on the immune system. Several variables would influence the overall health risk for an individual, including other stressors on the human body, genetics and nutrition.”

Recently, Dutch coatings company AkzoNobel invested €32 million (US$35 million) to produce BPA-free coatings for the EMEA’s metal packaging industry.

By Natalie Schwertheim

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