By a scientific research made at HÜGAM Hacettepe University Food Research Center, authorities answered the questions regarding health risk of BPA in carboys.
According to a research made in Turkey as the first one in the world, the Bisphenol A (BPA) contained in the polycarbonate (PC) carboys migrates into water to a level of 1/200 of the internationally accepted health limits, even if the carboy has been kept at 35°C for 60 days. Given that level of migration, in order for a person to take in such amounts of BPA from demijohns that would create risk for health, an adult should drink 60 carboys and a baby should drink 6 carboys of water per day.
Hacettepe University Food Research Centre (HÜGAM) investigated the risk of migration into drinking water for Bisphenol A, which is contained in the carboys and is claimed to be carcinogenic due to its “endocrine disrupting effect. HÜGAM Assistant Director and head of the research group Prof. Dr. Yaşar Kemal Erdem said that, at the end of the research that lasted about 3 months and in which commercial samples were used as well, the rates of migration into water for the BPA content of carboys were tested and these rates were found to be well below the international health limits.
Prof. Dr. Erdem, who is also the Head of the Food Engineering Department in the Faculty of Engineering, stated that BPA migration was measured to be a maximum of 0.003 mg/kg even under the conditions of storage at 35°C, considering the possibility of carboys being directly exposed to sunlight, and added that “the existence of BPA at these levels does not pose health risks, given that this rate is lower than 1/200 of 0.6 mg/kg which is the daily legal limit in the EU and Turkish legislation. The BPA in the polycarbonate carboys does not pose any risks for human health. Prof. Dr. Erdem indicated that, at such levels of BPA, in order for a health risk to exist, an adult should drink 1.200 liters (60 carboys) and a baby should drink 120 liters (6 carboys) of water per day.
Source: Ambalaj Bülteni The Packaging Bulletin magazine, September/October 2010 issue
