EFSA Significantly Lowers Tolerable Daily Intake of BPA; BfR Disagrees

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) lowered the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of bisphenol A (BPA) from 4 micrograms per kilogram body weight (µg/kg bw) per day to 0.2 nanograms (ng) per kilogram of body weight per day based on a re-evaluation of the substance. The re-evaluation of BPA was conducted by EFSA’s Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes and Processing Aids (CEP). 

By way of background, EFSA previously conducted risk assessments of BPA in 2006 and 2015. In its 2015 risk assessment of BPA, EFSA established the temporary TDI of 4 µg/kg bw per day. In 2021, EFSA proposed lowering the TDI of BPA to 0.04 ng/kg bw per day in a draft scientific opinion and launched a public consultation on the draft opinion.

Challenging EFSA’s determination, the German Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) issued an opinion (No. 018/2023) on April 19, 2023, stating that it “does not support the new TDI derived by EFSA due to several scientific and methodological divergencies.” Based on a detailed analysis of the scientific data on toxicological effects from gastrointestinal exposure to BPA, BfR derived a TDI volume of 0.2 µg/kg bw per day (this corresponds to 200 ng/kg bw/day)