Bisphenol A levels in commercial milk, infant formula and dairy products.

This paper reviews current information on milk, infant formula and dairy products contamination with bisphenol A (BPA), an ubiquitously found chemical compound originating from polycarbonate containers and epoxy resins. BPA is highly lipophilic and bioaccumulates. It leaches into food, particularly at high (>50°C) temperatures. It has been shown that BPA may mimic estrogenic effects in both animals and human, resulting in reproductive disorders and potentially increased risk of hormone-dependent cancers. Recently, BPA has been implicated in the etiology of pandemic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although banned for use in baby bottles by the European Commission, it remains controversial if longlife use of BPA-containing products poses significant risks for human and animals. Milk and dairy products are widely consumed however BPA levels reported in the majority of studies appear not to exceed maximum limits accepted by the European Union. Higher BPA concentrations have been constantly detected in canned milk and infant formula. Introduction. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) define synthetic chemical substances with long remanence (for tens of years) in the surrounding environment (water, air, soil) and the property to spread within the food chains. Typically, organochlorine pesticides enter, through contaminated fodders, the animal body and concentrate in animal products and sub-products, food being the most significant way of human contamination. Lipid soluble organochlorine compounds participate in a process of bioaccumulation, particularly in fat tissue and fatty biological environments such as milk. Despite ban of use of DDT and its metabolites and further hexachlorbenzene and heptachlorine applied in Romania since 1985 and 1995, respectively, and continuous efforts of neutralization of 12 POPs of international interests as stated by the Stockholm Convention (Downie 2003), due to the long half-life and phenomenon of bioaccumulation, pesticides and other organochlorine are still detected at noticeable levels in the food chain.