CHEM Trust: The ban on bisphenols in food contact materials is a great win for human health

Update: On 19th December, the regulation restricting the use of bisphenol A (BPA) and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials was adopted by the European Commission. Read more here.

Antonia Reihlen from CHEM Trust said:

“The ban on BPA and other hazardous bisphenols in food contact materials is a great step forward in the protection of people’s health. But it unfortunately continues the piecemeal approach of only banning some bisphenols in specific articles and products. To protect people and nature, we need a comprehensive restriction on these very problematic chemicals.

In addition, many more hazardous chemicals can be used in food contact materials. There is still an urgent need to revise the EU’s food contact material legislation. Without this revision, people and the environment will continue to be exposed to harmful chemicals in the materials that come into contact with our food and drink.”

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On the 12th of June, the EU Commission published a draft regulation restricting the use of bisphenol A (BPA) and “other bisphenols” in certain food contact materials (FCM), which was supported by the Member States in the Standing Committee of Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.  After over a decade of pushing for the regulation of bisphenols, CHEM Trust welcomes this ban as an important stage victory on the way to the necessary, more comprehensive ban of bisphenols. The ban in food contact materials will become law by the end of this year, unless there is opposition from the Parliament or the Council.

What is in the regulation?

Bisphenols that are classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) Category 1A/1B or endocrine disrupting to human health Category 1, will be restricted in certain food contact materials (FCMs), including plastic and coatings, e.g. for cans. As food contact materials are assumed to be the most relevant exposure pathway for BPA and other bisphenols, human exposure levels are expected to drop significantly due to the new provisions.

“Safe” levels continue to be re-evaluated

The EU Commission’s DG Sante prepared the proposal to restrict BPA and further bisphenols in FCMs after the EU Food Safety Agency (EFSA) reduced the “safe level” of BPA by 20,000 times to 0.2 ng/kg per day. This reduction of the preliminary value set in 2015 resulted from a re-evaluation of scientific evidence on BPA’s adverse effects on the immune system. The value of 4µg/kg established in 2015 was already 10 times lower than the original one based on the first EFSA risk assessment of BPA in 2006. EFSA’s experts concluded that “Dietary exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) is a health concern for consumers across all age groups“, increasing the urgency to act under the FCM legislation.

The above process demonstrates how important it is to take a precautionary approach to restricting chemicals; as time passes, new scientific evidence shows us that previously thought “safe levels” are not, in fact, “safe”.

Regulating chemical groups

For many years, CHEM Trust has called for the regulation of chemical groups rather than the substance-by-substance approach. This is needed to accelerate regulation and avoid regrettable substitution. CHEM Trust’s report “Toxic Soup: From BPA to BPZ” published in 2018, illustrates the problem of regulated bisphenols being replaced by other, similarly problematic but not yet regulated bisphenols – a clear case of regrettable substitution. This is underlined by the fact that BPS and BPF, two of the most common chemicals used to replace BPA were detected in 50% of the adults in human biomonitoring studies (field data from 2014 – 2021).

It is therefore very welcome that the grouping approach has been implemented in the recent ban of BPA and “other bisphenols” under FCM legislation. It is also good to see that the group is open to include further bisphenols after they receive a harmonised classification.

What still needs to happen?

A substantial increase in protection from exposure to bisphenols can only be achieved by a comprehensive ban on bisphenols in all products. However, there are more substances posing significant risks to humans and the environment, which must be addressed comprehensively at the EU level. This includes at least the following actions:

  • Speedy resubmission, processing and decision of an ambitious restriction of bisphenols that are endocrine disrupting for the environment
  • Revision of the EU chemicals legislation REACH and the extension of the generic risk management approach to all properties of very high concern (at least persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic / very persistent, very bioaccumulative (PBT/vPvB), persistent, mobile and toxic / very persistent very mobile substances (PMT/vPvM) and endocrine disruption Category 1 and 2 as well as carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) Category 1 and 2) in consumer products
  • Revision of the food contact materials legislation to ensure no substances of concern enter food contact materials as well as a harmonised approach across all food contact materials, including paper, which is not covered by the current bisphenols ban in FCMs.

While these processes may take longer, it is essential that Germany resubmits its restriction on bisphenols hazardous to the environment and that ECHA or another Member State start a similar initiative for bisphenols from the human health perspective.