Whether you realize it or not, there’s a good chance that you are being exposed to bisphenol F (BPF). There’s even a fair chance that you are highly exposed. If so, should you be concerned and what should you do about it?
It’s
been shown that the primary route of human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) is through the
diet. One source of BPA in the diet is the
protective coating inside many food and beverage cans, which helps to protect
the safety and integrity of the food.
Epoxy resin-based coatings have been used for decades because they excel
in this
A
recent
analysis of published data on human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA
Everyone
has heard about bisphenol
A
(BPA). It’s primarily used as a raw
material to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, both of which are high performance
materials
A
common definition of the word dust refers to fine, dry particles of
matter. From dust storms on earth to
cosmic dust, just about everywhere that any form of matter is present, dust
will also be present. That includes the ubiquitous
household dust that seems to magically appear in our homes on every surface and
in the form of dust bunnies under furniture.
It’s
widely understood that a key reason why life developed on Earth is because of water. A common definition of a habitable
environment is one in which plenty of liquid water is available to sustain life. In short, we can’t live without water.
The
headline almost jumps out at you – “BPA
Substitute Could Cause Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes.” That alarming headline appears in an industry
publication, but the same story was widely reported in
the popular media, which tends to cover science only when they can create scare
stories.
It’s
not hard these days to find stories in the popular media about the presence of
various chemical contaminants in our environment. Included in this genre are stories about
trace levels of chemicals in common consumer products, in the air we breathe,
and in the water we drink. Almost
inevitably the stories suggest that even minor exposures are harming our
health.
A
recent study
from French government researchers reported new results on the exposure of
pregnant women to more than 100 substances that might be a concern for the
health of a developing fetus. The study
examined exposure to various metals (e.g., lead, mercury, arsenic) and many
common organic compounds that we might encounter in our daily lives.
Not
that many years ago, many reusable food and beverage containers on the market
worldwide were made from polycarbonate plastic.
Polycarbonate, which is made from bisphenol A (BPA), is an almost ideal
material for these products since its clarity is comparable to glass, making it
easy to see what’s inside, and it’s virtually shatter-proof – an important
attribute for consumer products that could be dropped.
With
the high level of attention to bisphenol
A (BPA) over the years, it’s easy to get the impression that
BPA is everywhere and we’re constantly being exposed to high and harmful levels
in our daily lives. You might even have
seen BPA referred to as an “everywhere chemical.”
Based on a recent and fascinating scientific report from Switzerland, you might start to hear demands to eliminate mild mustard from our diet. The Swiss Federal Food Safety and VeterinaryOffice (FSVO) recently reported that mild mustard contains the chemical bisphenol F (BPF). Remarkably, BPF is not a contaminant introduced from packaging or other sources, but apparently isproduced from a component naturally present in mustard seeds when the seeds are processed to make mustard.As suggested by the name, BPF is chemically very similar to the well-known substance bisphenol A (BPA) and both have been shown to be weakly estrogenic.
It
is commonly perceived that natural chemicals are safe while manmade substances
may be harmful. These perceptions,
however, if not supported by scientific evidence, can result in risk perception
gaps that can cause us to worry more than warranted by the evidence.
