Including non-dietary sources into an exposure assessment of the European Food Safety Authority: The challenge of multi-sector chemicals such as Bisphenol A.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Level 5 by design analogy (regulatory risk assessment and computational exposure modeling without new clinical trial/cohort data).
PubMed 28185845 · doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2017.02.004
What was done
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) performed a multi-route aggregate exposure assessment for Bisphenol A (BPA) incorporating dietary and non-dietary sources across multiple age groups. Exposures were estimated using source-to-dose modeling (forward calculation) and compared against estimates derived from urinary biomonitoring data (backward calculation).
What was found
Forward and backward aggregate exposure estimates aligned within the same order of magnitude, though forward calculations yielded higher values with greater uncertainty. Dietary intake, particularly canned food, contributed approximately 90% of total internal exposure to BPA. Dermal exposure via thermal paper and cosmetics contributed approximately 10% in specific age groups. No absolute exposure values were reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This establishes a quantitative framework for multi-route exposure modeling of multi-sector chemicals. It highlights that although dermal exposure comprises a minority of total intake, it bypasses first-pass hepatic conjugation, potentially increasing its toxicological significance.
Limits
The abstract reports relative percentages rather than absolute exposure numbers or biomonitoring sample sizes (n). Forward modeling carries considerable uncertainty, and specific underlying population parameters are omitted.
Cited by
- context Thermal paper receipts are one of the top sources of human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA).