Here’s another article from the Globe and Mail discussing BPA in food packaging. The article discusses a recent study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The study looked at 140 scientific reports on the subject of chemicals migrating out of packaging that is used in food and drink.
The Globe reported:
In many of these reports, researchers detected contaminants leaking from packaging. These include: perfluorinated compounds, used to line containers to make them grease and water resistant but are under investigation as cancer-causing agents; triclosan, an anti-bacterial compound that has leached into flour and rice from containers, and the biocide ortho-phenylphenol, which has been detected in beer.
Even more alarming is Health Canada’s official position. The Globe reported:
Health Canada, in response to questions from The Globe and Mail, said that because these compounds aren’t deliberately placed in food, they don’t come under disclosure rules.
“Health Canada does not require the labelling of trace additives used in food packaging materials because these chemicals are not intentionally added to foods and do not fall under the definition of food additives, which require mandatory labelling,” the agency said.
Critics i.e., the companies argue that the levels pose no risk because they are so small. However, this position is not entirely accurate given what anti-BPA activists have been saying.
