BPA, BPS, and BPF in food: what we test and how to read the results

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate, a hard, clear plastic, and epoxy resins that line the inside of some metal food and beverage cans. The FDA notes that, as with any packaging material in direct contact with food, small measurable amounts can migrate into food. BPS and BPF are structurally related bisphenols.

Every Laboratory.love sample is analyzed for three bisphenols by LC-MS/MS at Light Labs, an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory, alongside the 18-phthalate panel. Results are reported in ng/g of food. The complete protocol is in our methodology.

• Bisphenol A (BPA)
• Bisphenol S (BPS)
• Bisphenol F (BPF)

European Union. EFSA’s 2023 re-evaluation identified the immune system as most sensitive to BPA, based on effects on Th17 cells in mice, and set a TDI of 0.2 ng/kg body weight per day, replacing the 2015 temporary TDI of 4 µg/kg. It found that estimated dietary exposure exceeded the new TDI by two to three orders of magnitude and concluded there is a health concern. Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 then prohibited using BPA to make food-contact materials, including plastics, adhesives, rubbers, printing inks, silicones, and varnishes and coatings, and covered other bisphenols with harmonized classifications as carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction, or endocrine disrupting. It removed BPA and BPS from the EU list of substances authorized for plastic food-contact materials. Most single-use articles made with BPA could be placed on the market until July 20, 2026, and some, including certain articles for preserving fruit, vegetables, or fishery products, until January 20, 2028. Food already packaged in such articles may be sold until stocks run out.

United States. The FDA’s current perspective, based on its most recent safety assessment, is that BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods. It removed BPA uses in baby bottles, sippy cups, and infant formula packaging after industry abandoned them. As of September 2026 the FDA lists BPA as under scientific assessment and is reviewing a food additive petition filed on May 2, 2022.

EFSA’s TDI covers BPA only. Our result pages compare the sum of BPA, BPS, and BPF with the BPA value; that is a Laboratory.love screening convention, not an EFSA limit for BPS or BPF.

At 0.2 ng/kg per day, EFSA’s TDI allows about 14 ng of BPA per day for a 70 kg adult and 2.8 ng for a 14 kg child. A single 100 g serving reaches those amounts at the concentrations below.

A non-detect can only show a serving is below EFSA’s TDI if the laboratory’s reporting limit is itself below these concentrations. Our stored records do not include numeric detection or quantitation limits, so a result of “not detected” or “below the limit of quantitation” does not establish that a serving is below the TDI. When every bisphenol value for a product is a non-detect, our exposure rating counts bisphenols as zero, as described in the methodology; read that rating as “none measured,” not “below the limit.”

• Units. ng/g means nanograms per gram of food, numerically the same as parts per billion.
• A detection is not by itself evidence of harm, and a single food is only one part of total daily exposure.
• Results describe the samples tested. Other lots, packaging runs, or later production can differ.

See the 2026 analysis of Laboratory.love-commissioned results for how often BPA, BPS, and BPF were detected, the results directory for every product, and the open dataset for sample-level measurements. Our guide to reading lab results explains units, detection status, and exposure step by step. For phthalates, see our phthalates guide.

1. EFSA CEP Panel (2023). Re-evaluation of the risks to public health related to the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in foodstuffs. EFSA Journal 21(4):6857
2. Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 on the use of bisphenol A and other bisphenols in food contact materials (consolidated text of 23 February 2026)
3. U.S. FDA. Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application
4. U.S. FDA. List of Select Chemicals in the Food Supply Under FDA Review
5. Laboratory.love testing and risk methodology, version 1.0

Report errors through the contact page. Confirmed corrections are dated on this page and in the changelog, following the methodology’s correction policy. This guide is general information, not medical advice.