As much as both sides of the debate over the potential health risk posed by bisphenol A (BPA) long for the matter to be decided conclusively, the jury seems to be still out. Still, while the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA, Brussels / Belgium; www.efsa.europa.eu), midway through a public consultation on the starting material for polycarbonate and epoxy resins, said on 17 January that it has identified “likely adverse effects” on the liver and kidney as well as the mammary gland as being linked to BPA, it believes the risk is manageable.

As a precautionary measure pending conclusion of farther-reaching studies by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP), the agency has recommended the current tolerable daily intake (TDI) of BPA be temporarily lowered from 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (µg/kg/bw/day) to 5 µg/kg/bw/day.

On the whole, EFSA said it has determined BPA poses a low health risk to all – including foetuses, infants, young children and adults. This, it said, is because the highest estimates for combined oral and non-oral exposure are 3-5 times lower than the proposed temporary TDI (tTDI), depending on the age group. For all population groups, oral exposure on its own, it said the risk is more than five-fold below the proposed t-TDI.

In 2012, EFSA’s panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF) began a full re-evaluation of health risks that could be posed by BPA through dietary and non-dietary sources such as thermal paper and dust. In the process, it reviewed 450 international studies. To assure that its sub-group had access to the most recent studies, the agency said it liaised closely with European and national bodies engaged in BPA evaluations as well as with other scientific experts.

Warning that “much of the science underpinning these conclusions is still developing,” and its draft opinion therefore contains a number of uncertainties, EFSA said its panel will complete its assessment of the uncertainties and publish its final opinion later in 2014. The public consultation, to which it has invited “all stakeholders and interested parties” to contribute, runs until 13 March. “The risk assessment of BPA has been hugely complex,” Iona Pratt, chair of the CEF panel, said, while remarking that EFSA’s conclusions “are as definitive as they can be in light of current data.”

In what they said was “an initial reaction,” the PC/PBA and Epoxy Resins groups within the European plastics producers association PlasticsEurope (Brussels; www.plasticseurope.org) said, “EFSA’s opinion clearly confirms that BPA is not a concern for human, health, including newborns and young children. This is consistent with the findings of other regulatory agencies across the globe, including those from the US Food and Drug Administration, which concluded in March 2013 that BPA is safe at the very low levels that occur in some foods and also with EFSA’s earlier assessments of BPA.”

PlasticsEurope also noted that the European food watchdog’s recommended safe limit was “very conservatively derived.” The industry association said it will comment further on the specifics of the food safety agency’s assessment, following a detailed analysis of the comprehensive draft opinion.