A new German study on Bisphenol A contamination in canned foods

Canned foods generally have internal coatings which are intended to protect the food. However, it also leads to the migration of undesirable known substances, which are studied extensively in regard to the adverse impact they can lead to, and also other migrants, for which no toxicological data is precisely available.  

Food manufacturers are responsible to ensure that the food is safe according to the regulatory framework (EC) No. 1935/2004, which highlights that, when the food is packed or stored, no substances can escape endangering the health of the consumer or causing an unacceptable change in the food. A maximum intake of 90 µg/person/day is allowed based on the TTC concept (Threshold of toxicological concern), which makes use of in-silico toxicology study.  

German food control and animal health authority of Baden-Wuerttemberg published results of an 8-year monitoring (2014-2021) study involving a range of more than 400 canned foods (such as fruits, vegetables, vegetable oil, condensed milk, infant formula, sauce, mayonnaise, canned sausage, canned fish, canned meat, stews, and coconut milk) using LC-MS/MS.  

The researchers detected the presence of Cyclo-di-BADGE (CdB), which consists of bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), a substance that lacks extensive studies by regulatory authorities to evaluate its toxicity.  

CdB is reported at level as high as 1 100 µg/kg for 15 out of 33 samples between 2016 to 2021 in coconut milk. 33% of stews/RTE, 19% of meat and sausages, and 12% of fish samples were not compliant with the derived limits of CdB.  

Presence of Bisphenol F were found in 27 mustard tubes samples, ranging between 425 µg/kg and 6 200 µg/kg, which is two-third of the total sample. However, the researchers stated that these levels have nothing to do with the inner coating of the tube, but they can be the result of naturally occurring bisphenol F in mustard or a result of process contamination.  

In conclusion, the results of this study highlighted no particular issues, as the analyzed products are not or only slightly contaminated. However, some commodities occasionally give cause for complaint due to excessive CdB levels. However, a decreasing trend can be seen, as problematic contents are less common on average than 3 years ago.    

 

Source:

https://www.ua-bw.de/pub/beitrag.asp?subid=1&Thema_ID=3&ID=3543&Pdf=No&lang=DE