No significant risks from bisphenol A, say German toxicological experts

In a study published in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology, the advisory committee of the German body declared its support for the TDI of 0.05mg/kg bodyweight/day laid down by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

“Overall, the Committee concluded that the current ​TDI​ for BPA is adequately justified and that the available evidence indicates that BPA exposure represents no noteworthy risk to the health of the human population, including newborns and babies,”​ it said.

Deadlock​

The group said it had decided to scrutinise “the background and cutting-edge topics”​ of the chemical because “there seems to be no resolution of the apparently deadlocked controversy as to whether exposure of the general population to BPA causes adverse effects due to its estrogenicity”.

The GST paper explained the current EFSA-derived TDI was mainly based on bodyweight changes in two-and-three-generation studies on rats and mice – which it added had been subject to criticism. However, the German experts backed the TDI and rejected censure as “scientifically not justified”.

It added that recent studies also support the reliability of the two-and-three-generational data “at and below doses on which the current TDI is based”.​

Recent findings suggesting that BPA may cause harm at lower doses has not be confirmed in subsequent larger studies, said the committee.

“Particularly relevant are some recent studies with negative outcomes that addressed effects of BPA on the brain, behaviour, and the prostate in rodents for extrapolation to the human situation,”​ it added.

Rodents​

The scientists also concluded that rodent data can be used as a basis for human risk evaluation and reject claims that rats may be insensitive to estrogen in comparison to humans.

The wide-ranging review also considered included human exposure levels, which were thought to be below the TDI, exposure routes and challenges in reproducing results in larger studies.