Figure 1.

Bisphenol A (BPA) concentration in water placed into food cans that had contained different products. Two or three different brands of each product were examined. The cans were emptied, cleaned and rinsed with water that did not contain detectable levels of BPA. The 10 cans and a single new reusable ‘microwave safe’ polycarbonate food container were filled with HPLC-grade water and heated to 100°C for 24 h. Bisphenol A was extracted and analysed by HPLC with CoulArray detection (limit of detection was 0.01 ppb). Negative controls in glass bottles gave undetectable levels of BPA. Spiked samples in glass containers gave >95 per cent recovery. Significant leaching of BPA occurred from each type of product tested.