Where Exactly Is Bisphenol A Encountered?
Posted By Connie on October 19, 2011
Where is Bisphenol A found, and just what are the implications? It’s long established BPA can leach from plastic coating of metal food containers and polycarbonate storage containers, particularly when cleaning with abrasive chemicals, powerful detergents, or when containing hot temperature or acidic fluids.
Bisphenol A Inside Processed Foods And Polycarbonate Packaging
Bisphenol A is a common compound used to protect the inner surface of food cans prior to sealing with processed foods or drinks. This is used to stop the food from touching and reacting because of the metal within the container, and it will help keep microorganisms, invading via perforations in the metal, away from the food.
A Canadian health research study discovered minor but quantifiable amounts of BPA in a preponderance of canned sodas evaluated. The Public Health University of Texas, in the new research study (2010), found Bisphenol A in well over 50% of a diverse spectrum of canned or packaged food items evaluated; both for pets and for people. Food items testing positive ranged from green beans to infant formula, cat foods, dog foods, as well as unprocessed turkey.
The Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a regular monthly journal posted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in collaboration with several other government agencies, recently published a 2011 study named, “Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-Ethyhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention.” In order to look at the contribution connected with food packaging to BPA exposure, they assessed urinary BPA and phthalate metabolites prior to, during, and after a “fresh foods” dietary intervention. They selected 20 members in five households according to self-reported use of packaged and canned food products. In short, the members ate their normal diet, followed by 3 days of eating “fresh foods” which were in no way packaged in plastic or canned, and then returned to their usual diet.
Following the fresh foods intervention the investigation determined, on average, diminished concentrations of BPA by 66%. On the high end of the scale they noticed a reduction of 76% of the BPA assessed from previous levels. Because the subjects reported little use of plastic water bottles, frozen prepared food items, and microwaving inside plastic, their food sources implied that canned foods and beverages and restaurant foods had been the most probable causes of exposure to BPA and DEHP. They determined that DEHP and BPA exposures had been significantly decreased when participants’ diets were confined to food having limited packaging. The report includes a citation from a previous investigation in 2008 estimating detectable levels of BPA in urine specimens in more than 90% of the American populace.
Bisphenol a Exposure From Polycarbonate Plastic Containers
Another EHP research study released in 2009 determined that drinking out of polycarbonate bottles raised bisphenol A levels measurable in the urine by two thirds. A BPA free CamelBak Better Bottle can make a big difference in solving this.
BPA Exposure Via Water Pipes
The path of BPA doesn’t end in the supermarkets or even in your pantry and family fridge. In old buildings Bisphenol A, in a form of an epoxy resin, has been used as an internal coating to extend the service life of pipes delivering hot and cold running water to workers and residents.
BPA Exposure From Some Types Of Paper
An additional concerning source of Bisphenol A is found in carbonless copy and thermal papers. The concern is that exposure is probably going to come in bigger dosages because the BPA is loose, not bound into the molecules of the papers, the way it is in polycarbonate plastics. It doesn’t have to leach out to contaminate someone. All you need to do is touch it. If your fingertips are moist when you touch it, you will probably pick up ten times more BPA than with dry fingers. There isn’t really a concern of it entering through your skin, however a stroke of your lips, a sandwich out while shopping, or enjoying popcorn in a movie theater can be all you need to take in a whopping dosage of BPA. Movie passes, receipts, product labels, as well as airfare tickets are often printed on these kinds of paper. Free form Bisphenol A can easily transfer from movie ticket to hand; from hand to popcorn; from popcorn to mouth.
Why Not Eliminate BPA?
In spite of the controversy over BPA, there’s data to suggest that consuming food from cans treated with this epoxy resin is comparatively less risky than eating food from cans without this protective layer. That narrow discussion does not, however, account for other additional causes of BPA exposure. Even assuming the ‘safer’ assertion is true, with regards to canned foods, a tough question remains: should we be drinking and eating habitually from canned and BPA laced food packaging at all?
This question has no easy answer in the fast-paced ready-made world of today. For now it is up to individuals to decide. Where you live, where you work, how you shop, entertain, eat and drink are all factors that can influence your risk of exposure. .
Clearly a retail cashier who hands a receipt printed on thermal paper to every shopper is at risk of increased exposure than a life guard on the beach. That is, of course, supposing the life guard does not stay replenished with water drinking out of polycarbonate water bottles the whole day. The point is that behavior and habit are essential factors just as are environment and circumstance.
Dosage matters. Nearly everything is toxic at high enough doses; even vitamin A. The concern in the minds of medical scientists isn’t whether Bisphenol A is toxic. It is toxic. The worry is whether it’s dangerous even in very low amounts over extended periods. For now that’s still a subject of research and debate. The most simplified conclusion one may well draw is that ingesting less of it is good; more of it is bad.
Is it possible to eliminate exposure to Bisphenol A completely? For many of us the answer is probably not. In many cases awareness, just a little creativity, and a modest change in behavior can go a considerable ways in reducing potential exposure. Knowing where Bisphenol A exposure is probable can be a useful tool in determining for yourself and your loved ones whether, and how, to reduce your exposure to this pervasive industrial chemical.
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Source: BPA In Canned Foods
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