EU Member States have endorsed the ban of Bisphenol A in food contact materials
On June 12, 2024, EU Expert Committee has approved a proposal from the European Commission to ban bisphenol A in food contact materials.
This decision follows the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) assessment that found BPA has potentially harmful effects on the immune system.
The ban, which was proposed following a public consultation and extensive discussions with all Member States, will be formally adopted following a scrutiny period by the European Parliament and the Council, and will likely be enacted by the end of 2024 with the communicated transition periods before coming into force.
At this stage the transition period for PC Bottles and Watercooler Parts is 18 months.
According to the EU Commission bottles and coolers still on the market after the transition period can stay in use until they naturally wear out.
Further details as follows:
The 18 month transition period is also valid for single-use food contact articles except for canned fish, fruit, and vegetables as well as for the exterior of canned foods which have a 36 month transition period.
Food retailers have 12 months to use up their stock after the end of the transition period. Reusable articles and machinery can stay in use until they naturally wear out.
The ban will mainly affect BPA in packaging such as can coatings, as well as reusable plastic bottles and kitchenware.
Two exceptions on the use of BPA as a starting substance are (i) epoxy resins for tanks larger than 1000 L (due to the small surface area to volume ratio), and (ii) polysulfone plastic for filtration devices. The detection limit is set at 1 μg/kg and the derogations are subject to review every five years. Bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether (BADGE, CAS 1675-54-3) is still allowed in food contact applications but must not contain any residual BPA from the manufacturing process.
Other bisphenols with harmonized CLP classifications as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic (CMR) 1a or 1b, or endocrine disrupting 1 are included in the ban except in specific applications. This includes bisphenol S (BPS, CAS 80-09-1) and Bisphenol AF (BPAF, CAS 1478-61-1).