Bisphenol Found In US Food Supply

Chemical Deception: Multiple Forms of Hormone-Disrupting Bisphenol Found In US Food Supply



Sayer Ji
Activist Post

A concerning new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
analyzed the concentrations of hormone-disrupting chemicals known as
bisphenols in foodstuff from the United States and their implications
for human exposure, revealing widespread contamination of the food
supply.[i]

While most educated consumers are now diligently limiting their exposure
to bisphenol A (BPA) containing products, many are still unaware that
an entire class of endocrine-disrupting bisphenol chemicals exist, with
at least eight of sixteen in existence commonly used in production.

These lesser known bisphenol analogues are being substituted for BPA by
manufacturers of consumer goods, even within so-called "BPA free"
products, in an attempt to both evade public relations fallout and
increasingly stringent regulatory controls.

The authors of the new study reiterate this concerning chicanery:
<blockquote class="tr_bq">As the concern over the safety of bisphenol A
(BPA) continues to grow, this compound is gradually being replaced, in
industrial applications, with compounds such as bisphenol F (BPF) and
bisphenol S (BPS).</blockquote>The researchers set out to determine the
occurrence of bisphenols, other than BPA, in foodstuffs, due to the fact
that information on the topic is scarce. Their methodology was as
follows:
<blockquote class="tr_bq">[S]everal bisphenol analogues, including BPA,
BPF, and BPS, were analyzed in foodstuffs (N = 267) collected from
Albany, New York, USA, using high-performance liquid
chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Foodstuffs were
divided into nine categories of beverages, dairy products, fat and oils,
fish and seafood, cereals, meat and meat products, fruits, vegetables,
and "others."</blockquote>
The study revealed bisphenol contamination of the US food supply is endemic:
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Bisphenols were found in the majority (75%) of the food samples,
and the total concentrations of bisphenols (ΣBPs: sum of eight
bisphenols) were in the range of below the limit of quantification to
1130 ng/g fresh weight, with an overall mean value of 4.38 ng/g. The
highest overall mean concentration of ΣBPs was found in the "others"
category, which included condiments [emphasis added]</blockquote>Within
the category of vegetables, a sample of mustard (dressing) and ginger
contained the highest concentrations of 1130 ng/g for bisphenol F (BPF)
and 237 ng/g for bisphenol P(BPP). This dovetails with two other
disturbing findings from last year: 1) human and synthetic hormones now widely contaminate fresh produce. 2) synthetic hormone activity now eclipses that of natural hormones within exposed populations.

The study also found that canned foods contained higher concentrations
of individual and total bisphenols in comparison to foods sold in glass,
paper, or plastic containers, likely due to the epoxy-resin can liners,
which unless explicitly labeled to be 'bisphenol free' contain
bisphenols.

What
makes the discovery in our food supply of newer bisphenols such as BPF
and BPP most concerning is that there has been little to no
toxicological and safety research performed on these relatively novel
xenobiotic chemicals. It was only last year that it became apparent
that global manufacturers of consumer goods that formerly used BPA were
switching to the equally toxic (and environmentally more persistent)
bisphenol BPS. [see: Consumer Alert: BPA-Free Goods Still Contain Toxin Bisphenol.]

BPS is increasingly being used to displace BPA in global paper currency and thermal printer paper, and is now found in human urine samples at levels as high as BPA.
The new study discovered that the second most prevalent bisphenol
analogue found in foodstuffs was BPF, which accounted for 17% of the
total BP concentrations versus 42% for BPA.

The study concluded that on the basis of measured concentrations and
daily ingestion rates of foods, the daily dietary intake of bisphenols
(calculated from the mean concentration) were estimated to be
243,142,177,63.6, and 58.6 ng/kg bw/day for toddlers, infants, children,
teenagers, and adults, respectively.

In order to understand how high these levels are, one must compare the
disturbing effects of so-called "low-dose" exposure levels in animals.
Two animal studies published in 2005 found that doses as low as 25 ng/kg
bw/day resulted in "permanent changes to genital tract," [ii] and "changes in breast tissue that predispose cells to hormones and carcinogens"[iii]
Based on the study findings, toddlers are being exposed to almost 10
times that amount (243 ng/kg bw/day) through their food alone. This does
not even account for many other sources in their environment, including
sippy cups, canned foods and formula, etc.

For additional research, including natural strategies to reduce the
toxicity of bisphenols and encouraging their detoxification, read the
article: Manufacturers Replace BPA with Still Highly Toxic BPS

Source:-
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/04/chemical-deception-multiple-forms-of.html