Bisphenol A Concentration in Breast Milk following Consumption of a Canned Coffee Drink

Bisphenol A (BPA) is generally considered to be an endocrine disruptor. Previous reports indicate that the BPA content in breast milk is higher than that in serum; however, BPA is considered to be excreted in the urine and not to accumulate in the body.

The current study aimed at evaluating the migration of BPA from a commercially available canned coffee drink in a container that was coated with vinyl chloride resin into breast milk.

Ten women who had breastfed for ≥12 months, were ready to cease breastfeeding, and drank commercially available canned coffee drinks daily were approached to participate. A canned coffee drink in which the can contained vinyl chloride resin was chosen. Samples (5 mL each) of urine and breast milk were collected prior to and after ingestion (1 h, 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h) of a 190-mL canned coffee drink. BPA measurements were conducted using an ELISA kit.

Each 190-mL can of coffee contained 196.9 ng/mL BPA, resulting in 37.4 μg that was consumed in each drink. In breast milk, peak BPA excretion occurred at 1 hour; in urine, excretion occurred rapidly during the first hour, remaining relatively unchanged at 2 hours.

The present results indicate that BPA is excreted into the breast milk in addition to the urine and feces. Therefore, it is important to reduce both direct and indirect dietary BPA intake.