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22.05.2024 - Foods

CannedGoodsUnderTest-AnalysisForReproductiveToxicBisphenolA

In the May 2024 issue of Stiftung Warentest, 58 canned goods with different contents were tested.

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

In April 2023, EFSA significantly lowered the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of Bisphenol A in an opinion: Since then, the safe daily dose of Bisphenol A, which could be ingested without risk over the entire lifespan, has been 0.2 nanograms/kilogram (ng/kg) 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 specifies the maximum amount of the chemical that may migrate from packaging into food.

In this test, Stiftung Warentest refers to current recommendations for a maximum daily dose rather than the legally binding limit value. Stiftung Warentest concludes that, with the exception of condensed milk, all tested canned goods are heavily contaminated. There is a difference depending on whether the assessment is based on the BfR's evaluation or EFSA's evaluation – the newer EFSA assessment is significantly stricter.

Sources:

· https://www.test.de/BPA-in-Konserven-Die-Dose-hat-ein-Problem-6110181-0/

· https://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/topics/topic/bisphenol

· https://www.bav-institut.de/de/news/Verbraucherzentrale-fordert-neuen-Rechtsrahmen-fuer-Schadstoffe-wie-z-B-MOSH-POSH-und-MOAH-Weichmacher-Bisphenol-A-Melamin-Formaldehyd-usw-in-Lebensmittelverpackungen

https://www.bfr.bund.de/de/bisphenol_a_in_alltagsprodukten__antworten_auf_haeufig_gestellte_fragen-7195.html