On December 19, 2024, the European Commission officially passed a regulation prohibiting the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials. This decision is based on considerations of public health and food safety, as well as responses to scientific assessments.
This ban means that BPA is not allowed to be used in products that come into contact with food or beverages, such as coatings on metal cans and other kitchenware, plastic beverage bottles, adhesives, etc; At the same time, an 18 month transition period has been set for the final product.
After public consultation and extensive discussions among member states, the EU proposed a draft ban in the first half of 2024, which has now been officially approved.
Review of BPA regulation in food contact materials
EU releases first BPA risk assessment
The EU's attention to the safety of BPA can be traced back to 2007, when the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) first released its risk assessment for BPA
BPA is prohibited in infant and children's food packaging
In January 2011, the European Union banned the use of BPA in the manufacture of polycarbonate baby bottles
Starting from September 2018, according to the new assessment opinion of EFSA, the European Union has banned the use of BPA in plastic bottles and packaging containing food for infants and children under 3 years old
BPA is completely banned from food contact materials
Scientific evaluation opinions
In April 2023, EFSA released an opinion on the potential harmful effects of BPA on the immune system, reducing the tolerable daily intake (TDI) to only 0.2 nanograms per kilogram of body weight and concluding that current exposure levels to BPA pose a risk to consumers of all ages
Completely ban BPA
As a timely response to the latest opinions mentioned above, the European Commission proposed in July 2023 to ban the use of BPA in food contact materials. In the first half of 2024, the European Commission released a draft of the ban for public consultation through its portal website and received approval from EU member states. It has now been officially adopted
Related suggestion: All food contact material manufacturers involved in exporting to Europe should actively adjust and handle their inventory of products containing BPA. At the same time, for newly produced or sold products, the latest regulatory requirements must be followed to ensure compliance.
