For more than 10 years, U. S. government scientists have been conducting an in-depth research program with the goal of answering key scientific questions and resolving any remaining uncertainties about the safety of BPA. And oh what a program it’s been!
From this research so far, we know that human exposure to BPA is very low. We know that people quickly eliminate BPA from their bodies after exposure. And we know that BPA is unlikely to cause health effects at the very low levels to which we’re exposed.
If that’s not enough already, the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) released the results of the capstone study of the full research program, known as the CLARITY Core study. It’s the largest study ever conducted on BPA, and the results indicate that BPA has very little potential to cause health effects even when people are exposed to it throughout their lives.
In a statement released in conjunction with the report, Dr. Stephen Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted: “our initial review supports our determination that currently authorized uses of BPA continue to be safe for consumers.”
In the study, laboratory animals were exposed to a range of BPA doses from pregnancy, through early-life development, and continuing through their entire lifetime. As stated in the conclusion of the study report, “BPA produced minimal effects that were distinguishable from background.”
The study was conducted by scientists with FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research with funding from NTP as part of the CLARITY program (Consortium Linking Academic and Regulatory Insights on BPA Toxicity). The report was issued in draft form and will next undergo peer-review by a panel of experts organized by NTP. The report will then be finalized and the results are expected to be published in the scientific literature.
Based on the compelling body of U.S. government research already available, the consensus of government bodies around the world is that BPA is safe as currently used. Now with the results of the CLARITY core study, FDA has substantially achieved its goal and the results resoundingly validate FDA’s unambiguous response to the question “Is BPA safe? – Yes.”