The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) has released its 2014 hazard assessment of Bisphenol A (BPA)––an industrial chemical used to harden plastic products. In it, they reaffirm their conclusion that BPA, in relation to exposure from food contact uses, is safe at current levels. The confirmation was made after an internal review of the agency’s most current BPA research data.

The assessment affirms the following:

• The foundation of the FDA’s previous assessment of the safety threshold was solid.
• Rodent studies were found to be inappropriate in studying BPA effects in human infants because of metabolism differences.
• The potential for contamination in BPA research is much greater than the FDA previously thought.

The North American Metal Packaging Alliance, Inc. (NAMPA) believes that after years of review and evaluation of BPA research, the latest FDA update represents a major development.

“The 2014 assessment of BPA by FDA is welcome news. The comprehensive review by FDA scientists should dispel any concerns regarding the safe use of BPA epoxy resins in canned foods. Agency researchers could not have been more clear or definitive in their conclusion that an adequate margin of safety exists for BPA,” stated Dr. John M. Rost, NAMPA Chair.

Dr. Rost added, “[t]he FDA scientists reviewed the most current animal and human studies on BPA -- approximately 300 studies issued from November 2009 to July 2013, building off the past CFSAN assessments from 2008 and 2009. The outcome of this updated review was the determination that current uses of BPA in food packaging are safe, a finding that is consistent with assessments by similar government agencies around the world.”

A synopsis of the study––dated June 2014––can be viewed at FDA.gov.