Denmark has criticised a second EFSA delay in delivering its verdict on bisphenol A (BPA) as “unsatisfactory” and “weird”, saying it would wait for the full opinion to be published before even considering lifting its ban on the chemical. Bente Fabech, an adviser to the Danish Government has criticised EFSA. “To say you have a huge workload is no excuse and if you have a deadline then you should finish the work as promised. To say the delay is because they need to assess 800 studies is weird because the previous EFSA opinion is not that old. I don’t think all these studies are new so they have probably been through some of them before. Given that EFSA had been charged with delivering the risk assessment and that counties such as Denmark had requested the re-evaluation, the latest move by the EFSA was “unsatisfactory, not fair and a strange process”. The Danish ban will remain in place and the country will only consider lifting it once EFSA had issued its official opinion.
Update 4th August: EC urges scientists to adopt common approach on Bisphenol A
European Commission scientists from the body’s Joint Research Centre have stated that there is a need to agree harmonised test programmes that can be validated by independent experts to solve the controversy over Bisphenol A.. The Joint Research Centre report “Bisphenol A and baby bottles: challenges and perspectives” provides an overview of the results from various risk assessments and pinpoints the areas of uncertainty. The report states the presence of BPA in polycarbonate bottles, epoxy linings in food and drink cans and food containers means exposure to the chemical is widespread, however, uncertainty over the risks posed is due to “diverging opinions on the reliability of studies carried out with different methodologies, which result in contradictory interpretation of the data to date. In all cases, co-operation and synergies between academia and regulatory bodies in the area of regulatory toxicology should be sought for and promoted to get the best scientific contribution out of both players.” The report also calls for a step up in the search for suitable Bisphenol A alternative.