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December 18, 2009
This headline appeared over an article in the Straits Times on December 15
The thrust of the report is that bisphenol A, a component of plastics that are widely approved for uses that include contact with foods and beverages, causes effects on intestines at exposure levels below the levels that are generally approved as safe by regulatory authorities. There are a number of questions that need to be examined before deciding how important this result might be.
First, how relevant is this result to humans? The study was conducted on female rats that had their ovaries surgically removed prior to the study. It is not clear how relevant the results from surgically altered rats might be to non-surgically altered humans. To be fair, the authors also did studies on human cells but these were in test tubes and it is not clear how applicable test tube results are to whole people.
Second, are the authors biased in their approach? The first sentence of the article starts with the phrase “The xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA), a food contaminant with endocrine disruptor activity…” These words indicate that they have already assumed as fact that BPA acts as an endocrine disruptor, that is that it mimics hormones and disrupts the normal hormonal functions of the body. This would not be a problem if the overwhelming scientific consensus was in support of that assumption but as recently as October of 2009 a major study funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency found that relatively low level exposure of BPA to pregnant and nursing rats did NOT cause any hormone related disturbances. This study was published in Toxicological Sciences and an abstract can be found at http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/kfp266v1. Describing BPA as a “contaminant” also indicates the possibility of bias.
Third, how important is this study relative to all the other work that has been done to study BPA? In science, the final answer is seldom found in any one study or result. For this reason, regulatory authorities generally look at all the available information on any issue and then reach their conclusion based on a careful consideration of all the evidence. A good summary of the weight of evidence for BPA can be found at http://www.foodinsight.org/Resources/Detail.aspx?topic=Questions_and_Answers_About_Bisphenol_A_BPA_. This summay includes links to decisions by regulatory authorities around the world that have approved the use of BPA in plastics that come into contact with foods and beverages. It should also be noted that in view of the intense interest in BPA and the many studies that are being reported on it, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) will be conducting an international meeting on the safety of BPA in October of 2010. It is hoped that this meeting will provide a well balanced overview of all the evidence available on this important chemical.
Finally, it is important to provide a perspective on why plastics in general are so important in the struggle to provide abundant and healthy food for the world’s growing population. This perspective can be found in an AFIC publication “What You Need to Know About Plastics and Your Food” . This publication can be found at
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