France repeals ban on BPA-made food contact materials

From:Packaging Business Review

France has lifted the ban on the production and export of food contact material that contain bisphenol A (BPA).

BPAHowever, the restriction on the sale of these products within its borders is still in place.

The Constitutional Council, France's highest constitutional authority, has repealed parts of the law, which was imposed in December 2012 to ban the use of BPA, as it is believed to restrict international trade.

The changes made will allow manufacturers of food contact materials to use BPA for export products provided the BPA-made materials are not sold within the country for domestic use.

PlasticsEurope PC/BPA-group Jasmin Bird said: "Given that the French court has repealed the ban on exports from France, and yet maintained the ban within France, necessitates immediate action at European level to resolve this very arbitrary situation.

"The fact remains that leading independent scientific authorities worldwide such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have concluded that BPA-based food contact materials pose no risk to consumers."

As the Council did not assess the compatibility of the French law with existing European Union law, PlasticsEurope will continue its legal battle until the French law is completely removed.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age group at current exposure levels that are said to be under the safe level.

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Image: BPA is a chemical compound used in the manufacture of food contact materials such as re-usable plastic tableware and can coatings. Photo: courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

 

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