The highest constitutional authority in France, the French Constitutional Council, has stated that the French law of 24 December 2012 suspending the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) unjustifiably restricts trade and that manufacturers can make and export the substance.
“The fact remains that leading independent scientific authorities worldwide such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have concluded that BPA-based food contact materials pose no risk to consumers.”
The Council ruled that it was unconstitutional that France banned the manufacture and export of BPA-based food contact materials out of France. Consequently, the part of the current law concerning production and export of these products has been abrogated with immediate effect.
At the same time, whilst stating that it did not have the competence to assess the scientific merits of the law itself, the Council ruled that the remainder of the law was not unconstitutional.
French companies are thus allowed to produce BPA-based materials for export, but inside France the existing restriction on BPA-based food contact materials remains valid.
“Given that the French court has repealed the ban on exports from France, and yet maintained the ban within France, necessitates immediate action at European level to resolve this very arbitrary situation,” says Jasmin Bird from the PC/BPA-group of PlasticsEurope. “The fact remains that leading independent scientific authorities worldwide such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have concluded that BPA-based food contact materials pose no risk to consumers.”
The Council did not assess the compatibility of the French law with existing European Union law. Industry group PlasticsEurope will therefore continue its legal proceedings at the French Council of State and at European level to argue that the French law should now be removed in its entirety.
Michèle Rivasi, a French Green MEP, said, "It is high time to fix a precise legal framework on hormone disrupters at a European level. The European Commission should have done this in 2013, but it has still not happened. Because once again, at both European and French level, the manufacturers and lobbies of all kinds put immense pressure on the institutions to make sure their interests are protected."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned BPA from baby bottles in 2012, but said there was not enough evidence for a wider ban and has found the chemical safe at low levels.
