In December of 2015, the Swiss Federal Council released a report on the benefits and risks of the use of BPA, concluding that “BPA poses no health risk to consumers, since the current exposure is too low to cause damage.”
Although primarily focused on the safety of BPA, the report also highlighted the important benefits of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, both of which are made from BPA. For example, the report notes the “extraordinary thermal stability” of polycarbonate, along with its “toughness, rigidity, hardness, impact resistance and transparency.” These “advantageous properties” account for the use of polycarbonate plastic in many consumer products.
Echoing the findings of other governments, the report outlines the scientific consensus that “the very low BPA levels that are in the human body are quickly converted into a metabolite, which itself does not have estrogenic effects and is excreted through the kidneys,” and that “to date, no adverse health effects of low-dose BPA occurring in the human body have been reliably identified.”
The Swiss Federal Council is just one of the scientific bodies that have listened to the science on BPA. Similar to the Federal Council, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reached a very similar conclusion on the safety of BPA. In response to the question “Is BPA safe?”, FDA answers with a single unambiguous word – “Yes.”
*All quotes translated from the original report in German, available at http://www.blv.admin.ch/themen/04678/04711/04763/index.html?lang=de