Intake of bisphenol A from canned beverages and foods on the Belgian market

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA), a contaminant which may be present in the coating of cans, was determined in 45 canned beverages and 21 canned food items from the Belgian market. Beverages had an average BPA concentration of 1.0 ng/ml, while canned foods had a higher average concentration of 40.3 ng/g. The amount of BPA present in food items was dependent on the type of can and sterilisation conditions rather than the type of food. For example, BPA was not detected in non-canned beverages (<0.02 ng/ml), while non-canned food items had a very low average concentration of 0.46 ng/g. Using detailed information from the Belgian food consumption survey, the BPA intake of adults through canned foods and beverages was estimated to be 1.05 µg/day or 0.015 µg/kg body weight/day (assuming an average adult weight of 70 kg). Intake assessments, based on urinary metabolite concentrations from the literature, resulted in slightly higher BPA intakes (range 0.028–0.059 µg/kg body weight/day). This suggests that sources other than canned foods and beverages contribute to BPA exposure in humans.

Keywords:

• chromatography
• GC/MS
• clean-up
• exposure assessment
• packaging
• bisphenol A
• beverages
• canned foods

Acknowledgements

Tinne Geens acknowledges Funds for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) for a doctoral fellowship, while Adrian Covaci acknowledges FWO for a postdoctoral fellowship. The Scientific Institute of Public Health is thanked for putting at our disposition the Food Consumption Survey data.