Canada bans bisphenol A

Canada has reportedly become the first country in the world to declare bisphenol A (BPA) as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. BPA, commonly used in the manufacture of plastics, has been linked to a wide range of health disorders, including prostate and breast cancer because of its ability to mimic the hormone oestrogen. The Canadian governmental agencies evaluated BPA in infant milk bottles, plastic bottles and also the lining of cans. In the latter case, BPA is used as an epoxy to help in the preservation of canned foods and there are reports that trace amounts can leak into the food resulting in prolonged exposure for humans.

Dionex has announced that it has developed a fast and accurate screening method for detecting BPA in food and beverage containers. In addition, several demonstrated applications including the recovery of BPA from canned tuna and phenols in drinking water are reported to be available. Methods using mass spectrometric detection have been developed for rapid automated testing for BPA without sample preparation or preconcentration, for use in the testing of bottled water, consumer products and infant feeding bottles.

For information on these applications visit www.dionex.com

This story originally appeared in The Column. Click here to view that issue.