isphenol-A (BPA) is an industrial chemical that has been used in plastic manufacturing for decades. The presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials remains highly topical and area of evolving and tightening Regulation.
In this article Smithers Food Contact expert Dr Alistair Irvine summarises the 2024 Regulatory developments.
In 2024, following the most recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) review of the safety of BPA in food: the EU’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SC-PAFF) has adopted a new draft Regulation on the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact applications.
The EFSA review concluded that the tolerable daily intake of BPA should be reduced by a factor of 20,000 to 0.2 nanograms per kilogram of body weight (bw) per day, which is equivalent to a migration limit of 0.012 parts per billion. With a recommendation such as this, the European Commission had clear pressure to introduce tighter regulations.
We look at what is covered by the draft Regulation and what this might mean in practice.