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© Rémy Gabalda / AFP / Getty Images
A photo taken on October 9, 2012 at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) in Toulouse shows a bottle containing the chemical bisphenol-A. A year after the National Assembly, the French Senate voted on October 9, 2012, a socialist bill banning the use of bisphenol-A in food packaging. BPA is used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that are found in baby bottles, plastic containers, the liners of cans used for food and beverages, and in dental sealants. France has banned baby bottles containing the chemical over suspicion that it harms human development. AFP PHOTO / REMY GABALDA (Photo credit should read REMY GABALDA / AFP / GettyImages)
Look in your pantry – have you stocked it with canned food since the start of the pandemic?
Or are you a receipt accumulator – keeping all of your paper sales receipts for taxes or refunds?
Neither of these habits is probably a good idea, experts say, if you want to avoid toxic chemicals linked to a variety of health conditions in children and adults.
Metal food and beverage cans are coated with an epoxy resin coating made from a family of chemicals called bisphenols.
This group includes the infamous bisphenol A which was used to create baby bottles, cups and infant formula containers until frightened parents boycotted these products ten years ago.
The chemical compound BPA is an endocrine disruptor, affecting hormones in the body, and fetuses and babies are particularly vulnerable. It has been linked to fetal abnormalities, low birth weight, and brain and behavioral disorders in infants and children, as well as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity in the adults. One study even found erectile dysfunction in workers exposed to BPA.
Death, regardless of the cause, could now be added to that list, according to a new study published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
The new study found that people who had higher levels of bisphenol A in their urine were around 49% more likely to die within a 10-year period.
“This is another piece of the puzzle that convincingly speaks to the seriousness of the threat posed by these chemicals used in tin can liners and thermal papers,” said the author of the study, Dr. Leonardo Trasande, director of environmental pediatrics at NYU Langone Health.
Although this is the first study to find this result, “it’s not necessarily a huge stretch in terms of what you might expect, because these three conditions – obesity, diabetes, and heart disease – all increase the risk of mortality, ”said Trasande.
It’s in your receipts
An industrial chemical that has been around since the 1960s, BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastics – such as water bottles – as well as resins used to coat and seal many products.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BPA and its sister chemicals are found in beverage containers, the liner of canned foods, dental sealants, compact discs, plastic dishes, coins car, impact resistant safety equipment and many toys.
Today, the most common method of exposure for people is through the use of food contaminated with the coatings of aluminum cans and beverages. The second highest level of exposure is the thermal paper used to create receipts at nearly every store, Trasande said.
“Definitely saying no to that thermal paper receipt is a simple way to avoid exposure.” he said.
Understanding the risk of exposure during the pandemic is especially important, he added, as studies have shown that using a hand sanitizer is a key gateway for chemicals are absorbed into the body.
“One study found that if you handle those thermal paper receipts and use a hand sanitizer, you absorb almost ten times more bisphenols into your body,” Trasande said.
Unfortunately, he added, cashiers in stores that use a lot of hand sanitizer are going through “a very difficult time in the context of the pandemic.”
They generally wear gloves these days, which reduces their exposure, all in all, “Trasande noted.” But in an ideal world, we would either go fully electronic or go back to old paper. “
The official position
The United States Food and Drug Administration believes that, based on current research, the levels of BPA in foods are “generally recognized as safe” or what is known in regulatory jargon as “GRAS.”
The FDA says the National Toxicology Program continues to keep abreast of research into potential harm.
In 2010, the group found “some concern” about the impact on the brain and behavior of fetuses, infants and children, as well as on the prostate; “Minimal concern” about mammary glands or precocious puberty; and “negligible concern” about fetal abnormalities, low birth weight or future reproductive problems.
However, a recent study found that the evidence has doubled over the past five years regarding the negative impact on our health of endocrine disruptors in plastics, pesticides, flame retardants and other goods.
Although BPA is only one of these categories, it is the most studied synthetic chemical and it is widely found in human tissues. One study found that drinking water from polycarbonate bottles increased BPA levels by two-thirds in just one week. A CDC report found BPA levels in the urine of nearly all American adults.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents the U.S. chemical, plastics and chlorine industries, made the following statement:
“BPA is one of the most thoroughly tested chemicals in use today and has a 50-year safety record, and regulators around the world have looked at the science and found BPA to be safe,” Jennifer Garfinkel, director of product communications at ACC, said in a report.
“Total exposure to BPA from all sources is extremely low – about 1,000 times below safe absorption levels set by government agencies in the United States,” Garfinkel said.
“The American Chemistry Council neglects to take into account the growing body of evidence that extremely low levels of exposure can be harmful,” Trasande said in response.
“For example, the large-scale FDA-funded and (National Toxicology Program) BPA CLARITY study found multiple effects at low levels rejected here as safe,” he added.
The rise of the bisphenol family
While BPA-free can be seen on many plastic bottles and containers today, environmental and health safety experts say the chemicals that replaced them can be just as bad.
This is because they still belong to the same “bisphenol family” and seem to have the same chemical reaction on the body.
“I use a twist on the singer Prince to explain it,” Trasande said. “Prince renamed himself as the artist formerly named Prince. So I call him the artist formerly known as BPA. And there are 40 BPA replacements out there.”
Unfortunately for consumers, added Trasande, science has to repeat studies on each of these 40 substitutes to establish their health effects, even though the body is likely to respond to each one the same.
“There is still a lag, but in the meantime people continue to be exposed,” Trasante said. “And you must be wondering how much more do we have to do before we start to regulate chemicals by class?”
What to do
“If you avoid the consumption of canned foods, you are avoiding the primary source of exposure to bisphenols,” Trasande said.
“Now the alternative to canned fruits and vegetables is frozen or fresh fruits and vegetables, and I understand that there are accessibility issues during the pandemic, and the existence of food deserts for some economically disadvantaged groups. . It must be remedied, “he added. .
Other ways to protect yourself and your family if you are concerned about exposure to BPA and its sisters include:
- Do not microwave food in plastic containers
- Choose glass or stainless steel, not plastic, when buying and storing food
- Buy dry, fresh, or frozen foods if you can (plastic bags on frozen foods aren’t a problem, Trasande said, as long as you don’t microwave them)
- Do not use harsh detergents and do not wash plastics in the dishwasher
- Avoid thermal paper receipts – go for email only
And rest assured that a study found that just a few days of eliminating BPA-like products from your lifestyle can reduce the amount of BPA in your bloodstream.
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