Bisphenol-A and the Safety of Your Plastic Water Bottles

BPA, or Bisphenol-A, is a polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin building block that is used globally as the primary component in plastic water bottles. Polycarbonate is a type of hard, clear plastic that is used in many other plastic-based products, including food and serving containers and baby bottles. In addition, the epoxy resins in BPA are used to make protective linings for a substantial portion of the canned food and carbonated beverage products available globally.

In response to recent news reports, however, the concern over BPA has consumers scurrying to dispose of plastic water bottles that contain the substance. Both chemists and plastic experts are contemplating this odd situation. What has prompted consumers to so quickly draw conclusions around media reports on plastic water bottles and other canned food products that have been safely used for decades?

The concern over Bisphenol-A began primarily because it was suggested that the chemical could migrate or break down over time; however, both privately funded studies and governmental agencies have reported that this should be no cause for alarm. Despite BPA being a major component in plastic water bottles for over four decades, consumers are now seeing products containing BPA in a bad light based on a segment that aired on The Today Show in April. Though dubbed a Consumer Alert, the segment did nothing more than worry consumers about the safety of the product.

While it's likely this concern will soon subside once the scientific review process catches up to early media stories, BPA could still receive a bad reputation. Fortunately, the safety of Bisphenol-A is supported by research from many credible sources, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, and the American Chemistry Council. In an effort to eradicate the current notion that Bisphenol-A is harmful, these agencies are working overtime to disseminate the extensive research, provide documented studies into the public media arena, and on the FDA website. In addition to posting information on its website, the FDA has addressed these concerns during the Commissioner's weekly update and has provided Congressional testimony to dispel unfounded concerns raised by early media interpretations of the science.

What is BPA?

BPA is the chemical of choice for plastic water bottles and containers because it is durable, lightweight, and shatter-resistant. BPA is continuously researched and is one of the most studied substances today. In addition to the EPA, FDA, and American Chemistry Council, the substance is being thoroughly tested by global agencies, including the European Food Safety Authority, the Canadian Ministry of Health, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, and prominent Dutch and Norwegian research organizations. Moreover, the American Plastics Council routinely checks for traces of BPA in plastic water bottles.

Despite reports that polycarbonate bottles are not safe to use in the microwave, this has been proven untrue, and most scientists report the only thing to worry about is the possible uneven heating of food or drinks. In 2008, the well-known Dutch research organization, TNO, began testing the myth that Bisphenol-A migrates into food or drink when heated in the microwave. The study tested baby bottles from eighteen different brands by simulating a typical heating routine for warming milk. The researchers filled the bottles with water, placed them in the microwave for one minute, and then allowed them to cool. They repeated the procedure twice and then tested for Bisphenol-A in the water. No traces were detected, and the findings were published in a study.

What Should I Know about BPA?

Recently, the European Food Safety Authority established a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for plastic water bottles and products made from Bisphenol-A. It concluded that the ingestion of BPA on a daily basis was safe over a lifetime, and the highest possible transient level of BPA that could occur was less than 1%. Research indicates that to exceed the level set as safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, an adult human would have to ingest about 1,300 pounds of food and drink that has come in contact with Bisphenol-A daily for an entire lifetime.

Other concerns regarding the safety of BPA were the myths of the effects it might have on human reproduction and development. In April 2008, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) reported in its draft brief that there is no proof that BPA is harmful to human reproduction and development. In response to the draft brief, Dr. Steven Hentges, a Bisphenol-A expert with the American Chemistry Council, issued a statement that supported NTP's findings, stating that "in light of extensive studies, adverse effects on reproduction and development would be non-existent."

Your Plastic Water Bottles Are Safe

Even though scientific support is in abundance, consumers are still wary of using plastic water bottles and other materials made from Bisphenol-A. Polycarbonate bottles have been proven safe, but now it has been left up to the consumer to read the extensive reports on the subject. Exposure to BPA through plastic water bottles and containers is minute, and this polycarbonate plastic additive will continue to be used to make long-lasting, reusable bottled water products, food containers, and baby bottles that are consistently proven to be safe.

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Food And Beverage" article category.

People interested in the above article "Bisphenol-A and the Safety of Your Plastic Water Bottles" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

Cooking As A Science

It is not enough that good and proper food material be provided; it must have such preparation as will increase and not diminish its alimentary value. The unwholesomeness of food is quite as often due to bad cookery as to improper selection of material. Proper cookery renders good food material more digestible.

Knowling Importance Of Food Elements

The purposes of food are to promote growth, to supply force and heat, and to furnish material to repair the waste which is constantly taking place in the body. Every breath, every thought, every motion, wears out some portion of the delicate and wonderful house in which we live. Various vital processes remove these worn and useless particles; and to keep the body in health, their loss must be made good by constantly renewed supplies of material properly adapted to replenish the worn and impaired tissues.

How To Make Fruit Cocktails

Cocktails made of a combination of fruits are often served as the first course of a meal, usually a luncheon or a dinner, to precede the soup course. In warm weather, they are an excellent substitute for heavy cocktails made of lobster or crab, and they may even be used to replace the soup course. The fruits used for this purpose should be the more acid ones, for the acids and flavors are intended to serve as an appetizer, or the same purpose for which the hot and highly seasoned soups are taken. Fruit cocktails should always be served ice cold.

Many Ways Of Cooking Grains

All grains, with the exception of rice, and the various grain meals, require prolonged cooking with gentle and continuous heat, in order to so disintegrate their tissues and change their starch into dextrine as to render them easy of digestion. Even the so-called "steam-cooked" grains, advertised to be ready for use in five or ten minutes, require a much longer cooking to properly fit them for digestion.

Eating Cereals For Breakfast

Cereal is the name given to those seeds used as food (wheat, rye, oats, barley, corn, rice, etc.), which are produced by plants belonging to the vast order known as the grass family. They are used for food both in the unground state and in various forms of mill products.

Eating Barley For Nutrition

Barley is stated by historians to be the oldest of all cultivated grains. It seems to have been the principal bread plant among the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. The Jews especially held the grain in high esteem, and sacred history usually uses it interchangeably with wheat, when speaking of the fruits of the Earth.

Fast and Easy Lunches

Let's face it, cooking is not a top priority in the lives of every man, woman, or child on the planet. In fact, far too people have made learning to cook a priority in their lives. This means that we often exist on convenience foods and boxed mixes rather than taking the effort to prepare healthy meals for our families and our own personal enjoyment.