Bisphenol A (BPA)
Bisphenol A (BPA)
What is BPA?
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is used primarily in the manufacture of polycarbonate (PC) raw material plastic. PC is a plastic that is often used in mouldings for food packaging; for example in drinks bottles.
BPA however can on rare occasions be found in other plastic materials – this is why Kenwood check all plastic components in contact with food.
What is the concern about BPA?
BPA is a chemical that in sufficient doses can mimic the action of the human hormone oestrogen. This can cause health problems to humans.
When PC is manufactured the BPA content is consumed by the raw material manufacturing process, however small quantities of BPA can migrate from PC plastic over time, or when exposed to excessive heat or conditions outside of normal use. Many consumers are concerned about exposure to BPA, especially for infants, from this migrating, which has led to some countries already legislating about the levels of BPA in baby bottles.
What have Kenwood done about BPA?
- From the beginning of 2013 we have stopped using PC in all components in contact with food for all of our new products
- We test every plastic component that comes into contact with food to ensure that any migration falls below the accepted level before products are put on the market, a product will not be sold until we hold test reports that show no BPA is detected. These tests are carried out by specialised independent laboratories.
- We have management systems in place to regularly check food contact on our components, these include declarations for our supply chains, factory audits and on-going product surveillance testing
