Conclusions of the French Food Safety Agency on the toxicity of bisphenol A

Nathalie Arnich (1) , Marie-Chantal Canivenc-Lavier (2) , Martine Kolf-Clauw (3) , Hervé Coffigny (4) , Jean Pierre J. P. Cravedi (3) , Konrad Grob (5) , Anne-Christine Macherey (6) , Dominique Masset (7) , Rémi Maximilien (4) , Jean-François Narbonne (8) , Fabrice Nesslany (9) , Jeanne Stadler , Jacques Tulliez (3)

1 Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments
2 CSGA - Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation [Dijon]
3 ToxAlim - ToxAlim
4 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
5 Official Food Control Authority Canton of Zurich
6 Unité de Prévention du Risque Chimique
7 AFSSAPS
8 Laboratoire de Toxicologie Biochimique
9 Institut Pasteur de Lille

Since more than 10 years, risk assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) is debated at the international level. In2008, the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) expressed some concern for adverse effects, at currentlevel of exposure to BPA, on developmental toxicity. In this context, the French Food Safety Agency(AFSSA) decided to review the toxicity data on BPA with a special focus on this endpoint at doses below5 mg/kg bw/day (the no observed adverse effect level set by different regulatory bodies). This papersummarizes the conclusions of a collective assessment conducted by an expert Working Group fromAFSSA. Studies were classified into 3 groups: (i) finding no toxicity, (ii) reporting results not consideredto be of concern and (iii) indicating warning signals. The term “warning signal” means that no formalconclusion can be drawn regarding the establishment of a health based guidance value but the studyraises some questions about the toxicity of BPA at low doses. It was concluded that studies are neededto ascertain the significance for human health of these warning signals and to be able to propose newmethodologies for assessing the risks associated with low doses of BPA and more generally of endocrinedisruptors.

Mots clés: Bisphenol A; BPA; Risk assessment; Toxicity; Endocrine disruptors

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Nathalie Arnich, Marie-Chantal Canivenc-Lavier, Martine Kolf-Clauw, Hervé Coffigny, Jean Pierre J. P. Cravedi, et al.. Conclusions of the French Food Safety Agency on the toxicity of bisphenol A. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2011, 214 (3), pp.271-275. ⟨10.1016/j.ijheh.2010.12.002⟩. ⟨hal-01594322⟩