Filenews 20 September 2023
Bisphenol A (BPA), a substance used in plastic packaging and blamed for hormone disruptions, is detected in the bodies of almost all Europeans, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said this week
A recent study funded by Europe's Horizon 2020 major project "detected BPA in 92% of adult participants from 11 European countries," says a report by the Copenhagen-based agency.
Depending on the country, 71% to 100% of adults exceed the safe exposure limits set in April by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA).
EFSA's new limit is 20,000 times lower than the previous one and is limited to 0.2 billionths of a gram per day.
Hormone disruptor
Bisphenol A is widely used in the production of polycarbonate plastics. Its use in baby bottles was banned in Europe and the US due to concerns about hormonal imbalance, but the substance is still used in some plastic packaging, such as plastic lining on the inner walls of cans.
BPA mimics the action of estrogen and is considered a hormonal disruptor Animal experiments blame it for hormonal and metabolic disorders, infertility and increased risk of breast and prostate cancer.
The findings have not been confirmed in humans and to date France is the only country to have completely banned bisphenol-A.
To date, there is no consensus among competent authorities on safe exposure limits. The European Medicines Agency criticised EFSA's new limits on the grounds that no "causal relationship" had been established between BPA and health problems in humans or laboratory animals.
The EEA insists, however, that Europeans' exposure "is well above acceptable health safety limits, according to updated research data".
"This poses a potential health risk to millions of people," the agency said.
The study looked at bisphenol A, S and F levels in the urine of 2,756 people in 11 countries between 2014 and 2020.
The countries were: Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
The minimum levels were recorded in Switzerland, where only 71% of participants exceeded the maximum recommended levels. The corresponding figure was 100% in France, Portugal and Luxembourg.
philenews / in.gr
