French authorities confirm BPA risks to unborn babies

Unborn babies face ‘potential risks’ if exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) a chemical commonly used in food cans, a new report claims.

Epoxy resins containing BPA have been used as coatings on the inside of many food and beverage cans since the 1950s.

Risks to people have been highlighted before, but for the first time the report released this week, claims to estimate the actual exposure of the population to BPA through canned food.

France’s food and drink watchdog ANSES has been working on the report for nearly three years since highlighting concerns over BPA in September 2011.

The agency believes a ‘moderate’ risk exists to unborn babies if mothers are exposed to BPA, which can deform the structure of a baby’s mammary gland leading to a possible tumour developing.

It found, ‘Food contributes more than 80% of the population exposure. The main sources of dietary products are packaged in cans which represent approximately 50% of total dietary exposure.”

The agency has also identified water bottles distributed in polycarbonate as a principal source of exposure.

The argument over potential health risks from BPA is a long running one. Numerous reports have found no risk to humans, including one last year by Canadian authorities, which found “BPA in food contact applications presents no risk to the general population, including infants.”

Also last year the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) petition seeking a ban on the use BPA, the agency’s assessment was scientific evidence at “this time does not suggest that the very low levels of human exposure to BPA through the diet are unsafe”.

By Luke Walsh