L_2011026EN.01001101.xml
| 29.1.2011 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 26/11 |
COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2011/8/EU
of 28 January 2011
amending Directive 2002/72/EC as regards the restriction of use of Bisphenol A in plastic infant feeding bottles
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food and repealing Directives 80/590/EEC and 89/109/EEC (1), and in particular Article 18(3) thereof,
After consulting the European Food Safety Authority,
Whereas:
| (1) | Commission Directive 2002/72/EC of 6 August 2002 relating to plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs (2) authorises the use of 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, commonly known as Bisphenol A (hereinafter ‘BPA’), as monomer for the manufacture of plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs in accordance with the opinions of the Scientific Committee on Food (hereinafter ‘SCF’) (3) and the European Food Safety Authority (hereinafter ‘the EFSA’) (4). |
| (2) | BPA is used as monomer in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics. Polycarbonate plastics are used amongst others in the manufacture of infant feeding bottles. When heated under certain conditions small amounts of BPA can potentially leach out from food containers into foods and beverages and be ingested. |
| (3) | On 29 March 2010 the Danish Government informed the Commission and the Member States that it has decided to apply the safeguard measures provided for in Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and to temporarily ban the use of BPA for the manufacture of plastic materials in contact with food intended for children aged 0-3 (5). |
| (4) | The Danish Government substantiated its safeguard measure with a risk assessment provided on 22 March 2010 by the National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark (hereinafter ‘DTU Food’). The risk assessment covers the evaluation of a comprehensive study carried out on animals exposed to BPA in low doses monitoring the development of the nervous system and the behaviour in newborn rats. DTU Food has also evaluated whether the new data changes its previous evaluation of the toxic effects on the development of the nervous system and behaviour possibly caused by BPA. |
| (5) | In accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on 30 March 2010 the Commission asked the EFSA to give its opinion on the grounds adduced by Denmark for concluding that the use of the material endangers human health, although it complies with the relevant specific measures. |
| (6) | On 6 July 2010 the French Government informed the Commission, and on 9 July 2010 the Member States, that it has decided to apply the safeguard measures provided for in Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and to temporarily ban the manufacture, import, export and placing on the market of feeding bottles containing BPA (6). |
| (7) | The French Government substantiated its safeguard measure with two opinions issued by the French Food Safety Authority (AFSSA) on 29 January and 7 June 2010 and the report published on 3 June 2010 by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM). |
| (8) | On 23 September 2010 the EFSA adopted the opinion of its Panel on food contact materials, enzymes, flavourings and processing aids (hereinafter ‘the Panel’) on BPA responding to the Commission’s request of 30 March 2010 as well as covering the evaluation of the specific neurobehavioural study evaluated in the Danish risk assessment and the review and evaluation of other recently published studies on BPA (7). |
| (9) | In its opinion the Panel concludes that based on the comprehensive evaluation of recent human and animal toxicity data, no new study could be identified, which would call for a revision of the current tolerable daily intake (hereinafter ‘TDI’) of 0,05 mg/kg bodyweight per day. This TDI is based on the no adverse effect level of 5 mg/kg bodyweight per day from a multi-generation reproductive toxicity study in rats, and the application of an uncertainty factor of 100, which is considered as conservative based on all information on BPA toxicokinetics. However, in a minority opinion one Member of the Panel concluded that the effects observed in certain studies raised uncertainties which may not be covered by the current TDI which should therefore be considered temporary until more robust data becomes available in the areas of uncertainty. |
| (10) | The Panel noted that some animal studies conducted on developing animals have suggested other BPA-related effects of possible toxicological relevance, in particular biochemical changes in brain, immune-modulatory effects and enhanced |
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