Ingredient Index

Is BPA banned in Europe?

Banned in EU

Yes, in food packaging: the EU banned BPA in food contact materials under Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, with the main enforcement date of 20 July 2026. In the US, the FDA still permits BPA in nearly all food-contact uses and considers it safe at current levels.

CAS: 80-05-7 Also seen as: Bisphenol A, BPA, 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol

What the EU does

Banned in food contact materials. Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, adopted 19 December 2024, prohibits BPA in the manufacture of plastics, varnishes and coatings (including epoxy can linings), adhesives, printing inks, rubbers, and silicones intended to touch food. The main 18-month transition ends 20 July 2026; from that date most new BPA-containing food cans, bottles, and kitchenware can no longer be placed on the EU market. Metal packaging for processed fruit, vegetables, and fishery products, exterior-only coatings, and professional equipment get until 20 January 2028, and narrow derogations survive for very large tanks and certain filter membranes only where BPA migration is non-detectable at 1 microgram per kilogram.

The trigger was EFSA's April 2023 re-evaluation, which cut the tolerable daily intake to 0.2 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day, roughly 20,000 times below the previous temporary benchmark, based mainly on immune effects, and concluded that typical European dietary exposure exceeds it. The regulation also restricts other bisphenols carrying the EU's most serious hazard classifications, though bisphenol S remains temporarily permitted in plastics at a strict migration limit while EFSA finishes evaluating it. France got there first with a national ban on BPA in all food packaging in 2015; the EU banned it in polycarbonate baby bottles back in 2011.

Citation Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190; EFSA re-evaluation, April 2023 (TDI 0.2 ng/kg bw/day); Directive 2011/8/EU (baby bottles); French Law No 2012-1442

What the US does

Legal in food contact, with two narrow exceptions. The FDA's position is that BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods, based on its multi-year review and the CLARITY-BPA research program. The only US restrictions, baby bottles and sippy cups in 2012 and infant formula packaging in 2013, were granted because industry had already abandoned those uses, not because the agency judged them unsafe. Epoxy can linings, jar lids, and adhesives remain authorized.

A January 2022 food additive petition from the Environmental Defense Fund, the Endocrine Society, Consumer Reports, and others asked the FDA to revoke BPA's approval in can coatings, citing EFSA's new intake benchmark. Federal law gives the agency 180 days to respond; as of mid-2026 it has not. Market forces have moved faster than the regulator: industry groups report over 90 percent of US food cans now use non-BPA linings, though that figure is voluntary, unlabeled, and often means a substitute bisphenol like BPS. Washington State separately banned all bisphenols in receipt paper from January 2026.

Citation FDA, "Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application"; 21 CFR 177.1580 (as amended 2012); docket FDA-2022-F-1108; Safer Products for Washington Act

Products that commonly contain it

BPA is a building block of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin. In the US you may still encounter it in:

The epoxy lining inside some metal food and beverage cans, especially acidic and imported goods
Metal jar lids and bottle-cap gaskets
Thermal receipt paper (often as the substitute BPS)
Older hard, clear reusable bottles and food containers (recycling code 7)

What to look for on a label

BPA is a packaging chemical, so it never appears in an ingredient list. What to look for instead:

"BPA-free" on cans and bottles, remembering it says nothing about BPS or BPF
Brands that name their can-lining chemistry (Eden Foods has used non-BPA linings since 1999; Amy's Kitchen avoids BPA, BPS, and BPF)
Glass jars, cartons, and frozen as packaging routes around the question entirely
Recycling code 7 on old hard clear plastic as a hint of polycarbonate

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Frequently asked questions

Is BPA banned in Europe?

In food packaging, yes. Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 bans BPA in food contact materials, enforceable for most packaging from 20 July 2026, with canned fruit, vegetables, and fish getting until January 2028.

Is BPA banned in the United States?

No, apart from baby bottles, sippy cups, and infant formula packaging, and those restrictions were based on industry abandonment rather than a safety finding. The FDA considers BPA safe at current dietary levels.

Does "BPA-free" mean the product is bisphenol-free?

No. Manufacturers often substitute close relatives like BPS or BPF, which early research suggests behave similarly. The EU wrote its rule to cover hazardous bisphenols as a class for exactly this reason.

Why did the EU and FDA reach opposite conclusions?

EFSA's 2023 re-evaluation weighted immune effects seen at very low doses and cut its safe-intake benchmark about 20,000-fold. The FDA, reviewing largely the same literature plus its CLARITY-BPA study, judged current exposures safe. It is a genuine scientific disagreement, and Germany's risk agency publicly sided against EFSA's new number.

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Last reviewed July 13, 2026 · How we assign statuses