Dear Sir or Madam
The latest test results from Stiftung Warentest have shown that many food cans are contaminated with bisphenol A (BPA). This chemical is known to cause hormonal disorders and is suspected of promoting serious health problems such as breast cancer, infertility and behavioral problems in children.
In view of these alarming findings, I would like to know what concrete measures you are taking to prevent the migration of BPA into food. I am particularly interested in:
1. what steps do you take to ensure that your food cans are BPA-free?
2. how do you check compliance with the new, stricter limits of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)? The specific migration limit for BPA in plastics, paints and coatings that come into contact with food has been set at 0.05 mg/kg of food.
3. what alternatives do you offer to ensure that your customers do not consume products that are harmful to their health?
Is there an official statement from your quality assurance department that factually substantiates the safety of your products?
Thank you for your prompt feedback.
All replies (1)
Hi BisphenolA, Thank you very much for your inquiry. You would like more information about our food cans. We would be happy to provide you with the following information:
All our packaging complies with our internal specifications as well as all legal requirements. We also regularly check all packaging on a risk basis. Depending on the product and its acidity, we use either tin or plastic to coat the inside walls of the cans. Naturally, there are also clear guidelines for these materials, which we constantly review. As a result, both materials are unproblematic. They are ideal for storing food in tins and guarantee the specified shelf life.
Migros has also been monitoring the issue of bisphenol A (BPA) for years. We base our risk assessments on the statements of the FOPH (Federal Office of Public Health), the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) and the BfR (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment).
Our suppliers are obliged to comply with the legal requirements. We carry out regular checks on bisphenol A as part of our offer sample checks and product range inspections to ensure compliance with the law.
You can view the FOPH fact sheet here: https://www.blv.admin.ch/blv/de/home/gebrauchsgegenstaende/materialien-in-kontakt-mit-lebensmitteln/verpackungen.html
Furthermore, BPA-free inner coatings are now increasingly being used for canned food, so that not every can with an inner coating necessarily contains BPA. We hope this information is helpful for you. Kind regards, Lea