Last updated on May 12th, 2016 at 03:55 pm
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has created a database for food and beverage companies to list products whose packaging may contain bisphenol A (BPA), as required under a new California regulation, Proposition 65, that went into effect May 11.
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) implemented an emergency regulation on April 18 that allows manufacturers to provide in-store warning signs to retailers about exposure to BPA from products sold in the state. According GMA, this program provides an option for the industry to work together to provide warnings in-store, instead of removing products from store shelves or changing the labels of food and beverage products that use BPA in their packaging or may otherwise expose consumers to BPA.
Under the California regulation, manufacturers must provide warning signs to retail outlets at no cost to the retailer. GMA and several other related trade associations have established an online store, prop65signmanagement.com, where retailers can order the signs and have them shipped free of charge. In addition, a public database at prop65bpa.org provides both retailers and consumers with a way to identify which products the warning signs apply to.
While many companies have switched to other can liners, even those replacement packaging options may not eliminate trace amounts of BPA due to the ubiquitous nature of BPA in the environment, says GMA. Because OEHHA did not establish any allowable dose level of BPA, even products with packaging that does not intentionally include BPA and may only test for trace amounts are included in the listing.
California’s Proposition 65 requires the annual publication of a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity, and information must be made available to consumers about products that may contain listed substances. BPA is one of the products included in Proposition 65 and this regulation.
Scientists and regulatory agencies in the U.S. and across the world have concluded that BPA is safe for use in food packaging, says GMA.
