Estimation of intake of bisphenol-A-diglycidyl-ether (BADGE) from canned fish consumption in Europe and migration survey

The exposure to bisphenol-A-diglycidyl-ether (BADGE) from canned fish in oi l was assessed from consumption data collected for each Member Stare of the European Union and Switzerland, and migration data from a European survey on 382 samples. Trade figures were used when no consumption data were avail able. The average consumption of canned fish in Europe was 2.3 kg per perso n per year, with values ranging from 0.2 kg per person per year in the Unit ed Kingdom to 5.1 kg per person per year in Denmark. The exposure to BADGE was calculated as mu g per person per day. The data indicated that exposure to BADGE was in the range below 4 mg per person per year, i.e. 9 mu g per person per day, hence a fairly low exposure in part due to the fact that ca nned fish is a relatively minor dietary item. An approximation assuming the general figure of a 60 kg adult, would thus be 0.15 mu g/kg body weight pe r day. This is a fairly limited exposure considering the provisional limit in food had been set a 1 mg/kg and assumed 1 kg of food ingested. In countr ies for which increased exposure was found the reason was mainly caused by one individual sample exhibiting a high concentration rather than a larger number of samples with mildly elevated concentrations.