Concentrations and Profiles of Bisphenol A and Other Bisphenol Analogues in Foodstuffs from the United States and Their Implications for Human Exposure

Abstract

As the concern over the safety of bisphenol A (BPA) continues to grow, this compound is gradually being replaced, in industrial applications, with compounds such as bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS). Occurrence of bisphenols, including BPA and BPS, has been reported in paper products and in environmental matrices. Information on the occurrence of bisphenols, other than BPA, in foodstuffs, however, is scarce. In this study, several bisphenol analogues, including BPA, BPF, and BPS, were analyzed in foodstuffs (N = 267) collected from Albany, NY, USA, using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Foodstuffs were divided into nine categories of beverages, dairy products, fats and oils, fish and seafood, cereals, meat and meat products, fruits, vegetables, and "others". Bisphenols were found in the majority (75%) of the food samples, and the total concentrations of bisphenols (ΣBPs: sum of eight bisphenols) were in the range of below the limit of quantification (LOQ) to 1130 ng/g fresh weight, with an overall mean value of 4.38 ng/g. The highest overall mean concentration of ΣBPs was found in the "others" category, which included condiments (preserved, ready-to-serve foods). A sample of mustard (dressing) and ginger, placed in the category of vegetables, contained the highest concentrations of 1130 ng/g for bisphenol F (BPF) and 237 ng/g for bisphenol P (BPP). Concentrations of BPs in beverages (mean = 0.341 ng/g) and fruits (0.698 ng/g) were low. The predominant bisphenol analogues found in foodstuffs were BPA and BPF, which accounted for 42 and 17% of the total BP concentrations, respectively. Canned foods contained higher concentrations of individual and total bisphenols in comparison to foods sold in glass, paper, or plastic containers. On the basis of measured concentrations and daily ingestion rates of foods, the daily dietary intakes of bisphenols (calculated from the mean concentration) were estimated to be 243, 142, 117, 63.6, and 58.6 ng/kg body weight (bw)/day for toddlers, infants, children, teenagers, and adults, respectively.

A Demonstration of the Uncertainty in Predicting the Estrogenic Activity of Individual Chemicals and Mixtures From anIn VitroEstrogen Receptor Transcriptional Activation Assay (T47D-KBluc) to theIn VivoUterotrophic Assay Using Oral Exposure

“…BPS has recently received increasing attention due to its use as a replacement for BPA in consumer products including plastics and thermal papers (Rochester and Bolden, 2015). BPS has been detected in paper currency, paper products, foodstuffs, and urine at concentrations similar to those previously reported for BPA (Liao and Kannan, 2013;Liao et al, 2012a, b). The ability of BPS to activate ER in vitro has been documented (Molina-Molina et al, 2013;Rosenmai et al, 2014), but there is a general lack of in vivo studies for comparison.…”

“…values for individual chemicals in the ovariectomized rat uterotrophic assay across three endpoints (uterus blotted weight, uterus wet weight, and uterine fluid weight). ) for binary (BPAF þ MET, BPS þ MET) and multi-chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a widely used additive in plastics and resins and is commonly recognized for its estrogenic properties and ubiquitous exposure to humans and wildlife (Fan et al, 2013;Liao and Kannan, 2013). Despite widespread exposure to BPA, toxicokinetic evaluations performed in rodents, humans, and non-human primates have indicated that the estrogenic parent compound does not accumulate in the body, but rather undergoes rapid and highly efficient metabolism, primarily glucuronidation and sulfation, and excretion following oral administration (Draganov et al, 2015;Kurebayashi et al, 2002;Pottenger et al, 2000;Teeguarden et al, 2011;Tominaga et al, 2006;Volkel et al, 2002).…”

Bisphenol S (BPS) alters maternal behavior and brain in mice exposed during pregnancy/lactation and their daughters

“…One replacement, bisphenol S (BPS), is currently used in baby bottles, thermal receipts, consumer paper products, and personal care products and has been detected in foodstuffs and canned foods (33)(34)(35)(36). Biomonitoring studies reveal that human exposures to BPS are likely to be low but widespread (37) and have increased over the last decade (38).…”

Estimating bisphenol A exposure levels using a questionnaire targeting known sources of exposure

“…While some studies indicate that diet accounts for more than 90 % of potential BPA exposure in the environment of the general population (50,73) , other studies have found that diet explains a significantly lower proportion of urinary BPA levels (44,47,48,108) . Intervention studies have demonstrated the ability to lower, but not eliminate BPA exposure among study participants (50,59,71,109) . In the current study, only recent canned food intake, as (a) urinary BPA levels compared with reported canned food intake on the BEAM (r = 0·19, P = 0·14); (b) urinary BPA levels compared with reported canned food intake on 24 h food records (r = 0·35, P = 0·004); (c) urinary BPA levels compared with BEAM score (r = 0·26, P = 0·03); (d) urinary BPA levels compared with food record score (r = 0·32, P = 0·008).…”