Issue 20/2016 - Bisphenol A: a widely used basic chemical raw material

Editor's note: Bisphenol A (BPA) has long been used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, which are essential in consumer and industrial products used in modern life, and are often used in a variety of materials that come into contact with food, which are closely related
to public health and food safety.
BPA is one of the most fully tested chemicals in use today, with a 50-year track record
of safety.
However, the public continues to question its safety and harmfulness
.
In order to help readers scientifically understand BPA, with the assistance of the Polycarbonate BPA China Working Group, this journal has specially opened the column "Scientific Cognition • Misunderstood BPA" from this issue, in order to restore the real BPA
for readers through authoritative scientific data.

Bisphenol A is one of
the most widely used chemical raw materials in the world.
Russian chemist A.
P.
Dianin first synthesized bisphenol A
in 1891.
In industry, bisphenol A is made by condensation of phenol and acetone in an acidic medium to obtain the "A" in bisphenol A, which is taken from the initials of acetone English Acetone
.

BPA is widely used in the chemical industry, of which polycarbonate resin and epoxy resin are the most important application areas of
BPA.
Due to the incomparable advantages of many other materials, polycarbonate resins are widely used in the production and processing of daily consumer goods, such as automotive lampshades, CD discs, transparent sunshine house building materials, etc
.

Bisphenol A type epoxy resin is the most widely used type
of epoxy resin.
Epoxy resin, as a raw material for coating the inner wall of food and beverage cans, has played an important role in preventing food spoilage and extending shelf life, and is also widely used
in dental fillings, electronic and electrical components and other fields.

Many comprehensive, good laboratory practice studies support the safety of
BPA.
Its pharmacokinetics show that bisphenol A is rapidly converted into non-biologically active metabolites after ingestion into the human body and rapidly excreted in urine
.
The world's leading government agencies have affirmed the safety of BPA in applications including food contact materials and approved the use
of BPA in food contact materials.
In 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the authoritative food safety risk assessment agency in the European Union, considered that the current exposure to BPA poses no health risk
to people of all ages, including infants and young children, under the premise of fully considering scientific uncertainties.
After four years of review of 300 scientific studies by experts from the U.
S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the latest 2014 assessment concluded that BPA is safe
.