Posted January 12, 2015
The Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded bisphenol, a
synthetic estrogen used in lining the insides of most U.S. food cans, is safe
to consumers, according to an Environmental Working Group article available here.
Food Safety News also published an article available here
and Packaging Digest here.
Without
the FDA’s approval, American can makers would have to redesign their assembly
line, which would be a costly endeavor. Some companies have already spent money
switching to non-BPA materials to assure the public of their products’ safety.
This
ruling was a victory for the North American Metal Packaging Alliance Inc.
(NAMPA), according to Food
Safety News.
“The
comprehensive review by FDA scientists should dispel any concerns regarding the
safe use of BPA epoxy resins in canned food,” said Dr. John M. Rost, chairman
of NAMPA. “Agency researchers could not have been more clear or definitive in
their conclusion that an adequate margin of safety exists for BPA.”
But a
recent Korean study, published in Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart
Association, suggested differently.
This study
questions whether people with high blood pressure should avoid plastic
containers and cans altogether due to the fact that the women who drank soy
milk from the BPA cans experienced blood-pressure spikes with BPA present in
their urine.
The FDA
stated that the safety assessment might be revised accordingly pending
completion, review, and identification of data from other studies relevant,
according to Packaging
Digest.
For more information on food safety, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
