Follow EFSA's lead on bisphenol A – Danish plastics body
On March 26 the Danish Government announced its decision to outlaw use of the substance for children aged 0-3 as a precautionary measure after food safety experts from the Danish Food Institute raised concerns that low-level exposure to the substance may inhibit learning capacity. The ban is due to come into force on 1 July.
But the plastics trade body has rejected using the “precautionary principle” as a basis for establishing the ban and pointed out that it was extremely difficult for non-scientists to assess the significance of research. Nevertheless it hailed the Government’s “objective handling of food safety issues” throughout the decision-making process.
The group called on authorities to reverse its decision on banning BPA-containing materials for children if the soon-to-be-delivered verdict from European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gave the chemical the all clear.
“It is incredibly difficult for both industrialists and politicians to assess the researchers' findings and for that reason, we have strongly recommended to the parliament not to decide (on) a national ban or to work for an EU ban, without at least having knowledge of the additional assessment from the EFSA experts, as Denmark has asked for,” the DPF told FoodProductionDaily.com.
The body said that any substance shown to pose a health risk should be banned but added that regulation should be carried out “according to harmonised rules, both in Denmark and the EU”. It said it was waiting for the results of the risk assessment by the EFSA due to be completed by the end of May.
The DPF added that an EU-wide ban should be imposed if the Parma-based food safety watchdog reached the same conclusion as its Danish counterparts. But the body said it expected the Government to re-approve the use of polycarbonate in food contact materials for children if EFSA found that BPA did not pose a health risk at low doses.
