TORONTO, Can. — The estrogen-mimicking chemical BPA — already banished from baby bottles and frowned upon in water jugs — has now shown up in significant levels in some soft drinks, according to scientists.
Tests by Health Canada researchers revealed the highest levels were in energy drinks, the often caffeine-loaded beverages that have become popular with teenagers seeking a buzz and athletes chasing a quick pick-me-up. But the study also found the controversial compound in a wide variety of ginger ales, diet colas, root beers and citrus-flavored sodas.
Bisphenol A was detected in 96 percent of soft drinks tested, in quantities below regulatory limits. But a growing body of science suggests the chemical may have harmful effects at levels far below those limits.
Health officials did not disclose the brand names of the beverages it evaluated, but estimated that the survey covered at least 84 percent of canned soft drinks sold in Canada.
The report outlining the results appeared last month in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a relatively obscure scientific publication.
Soft-drink cans are treated with a BPA-containing liner to prevent drinks from coming into contact with metal.
Although independent scientists and environmentalists warn that all exposures to the artificial sex hormone should be avoided, Health Canada and the soft-drink industry have played down the study’s findings, saying the amounts detected were well below regulatory limits.
Still, many scientists are worried about ingestion of the minute amounts of BPA found leaching from food and beverage packaging. The chemical is a synthetic compound able to fool cells into viewing it as estrogen, providing what amounts to an extra dollop of the female hormone.
“We are constantly getting exposed to this chemical,” said Frederick vom Saal, a biologist at the University of Missouri and an authority on BPA.”People drink a lot of soda and this needs to be looked at as one of a very large number of sources of exposure to this chemical.” BPA is also used in dental sealants, plastic water pipes and even carbonless cash-register receipts.
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