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12.07.2023 - Foods

Peeled Tomatoes in Eco-Test - Analysis for Reproductive Toxic Bisphenol A

In the July 2023 issue of Öko-Test, 20 cans of peeled tomatoes were tested, including 8 organic products. Two products were packed in glass jars.

The following test parameters were examined:

Bisphenol A
Pesticides
Mold toxins

Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used in combination with other chemical substances for the production of certain plastics and resins. BPA can migrate from the epoxy resins in canned food into the food and be absorbed by us through food consumption. Bisphenol A can affect our hormonal system and is officially classified as "reproductively toxic to humans." BPA is also suspected to promote breast cancer, obesity, and behavioral abnormalities in children.

In April 2023, the EFSA significantly lowered the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of Bisphenol A in an opinion: Since then, the safe daily dose of Bisphenol A that could be absorbed over a lifetime without risk is 0.2 nanograms/kilogram (ng/kg) of body weight—20,000 times lower than the TDI last set in 2015.

The TDI is not a legally binding limit value. The BPA levels found are all below the currently applicable migration limit, which prescribes how much of the chemical may maximally migrate from a packaging into the food.

In this test, Öko-Test refers to the current recommendations for a maximum daily dose instead of the legally binding limit value. As a result, Ökotest concludes that in all canned tomatoes, the currently recommended amount of Bisphenol A is exceeded several times over:

“With a can of one provider from our test, an adult person weighing 60 kg consumes 28 times more Bisphenol A (BPA) than the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers harmless according to the latest assessment. Only the two products from glass jars are free of Bisphenol A.”

Pesticides and Mold Toxins

Pesticides are not a problem this time. Mold toxin was found in only one product and just under the EU's valid AOH guideline value for tomato products. This is alternariol (AOH), which was mutagenic in cell experiments.

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