BPA vs BPS: "BPA-Free" Does Not Mean What You Think

When people learned that BPA acts like estrogen, manufacturers took it out and printed "BPA-free" on the label.

What they put in instead was BPS.

What BPA is

Bisphenol A is one of the most produced chemicals in the world. It is in hard plastics, the lining of food cans and the coating of thermal paper, which is the paper receipts are printed on.

It is called an endocrine disruptor because it can act on hormone receptors.

BPA vs BPS

• Hormone activity. A systematic review of the research on BPA substitutes concluded that BPS and BPF are as hormonally active as BPA, with potency in the same order of magnitude and the same kinds of effects: estrogenic, antiestrogenic, androgenic and antiandrogenic. (Rochester 2015)
• Through the skin. BPS is now common on receipts. In lab and human tests it passed through skin less than BPA did. But the body also processed it less efficiently, so more of it stayed in the free, active form. (Liu 2019)

So "BPA-free" often means "contains a close relative that behaves the same way".

Do receipts really matter?

• Cashiers. Female cashiers who handled receipts without gloves had about twice as much BPA in their urine after a shift as before it. With gloves, nothing changed. Higher BPA went with higher fasting insulin and insulin resistance. (Lee 2018)
• National data. In US survey data, women in jobs that likely involve handling receipts had urinary BPA of 5.45 µg/L, against 2.16 µg/L in other women. No such difference was seen in men. (Hehn 2016)
• Men and hormones. In men from an infertility clinic, higher urinary BPA was associated with a lower free androgen index and with changes in other hormones. The authors called for more research to confirm it. (Meeker 2010)

The honest part

Not every study finds a meaningful dose from receipts. In one experiment that simulated a cashier's work, urinary BPA stayed below the reference limit in every participant, and the calculated intake was more than 25 times lower than the European safety limit in force at the time. (Porras 2014)

The hormone studies in people are associations. They do not prove BPA caused the changes.

One more thing. I once posted a story about a lawsuit over receipts and estrogen. I could not confirm that lawsuit from any court record or news report, and the page now says so. The receipt studies above are real.

What I do

• I do not take paper receipts. If I have to, I do not hold them with wet or greasy hands.
• I do not use hand sanitizer or lotion right before touching one.
• I do not trust "BPA-free" as a safety claim.
• I store and heat food in glass.
• I eat little canned food.

Plastic particles themselves are a separate problem. See microplastics and testosterone.

Quick answers

Is BPS safer than BPA?

Not clearly. A systematic review concluded that BPS and BPF are as hormonally active as BPA. BPS seems to pass through skin less than BPA, but the body clears it less efficiently.

Is BPA bad for you?

BPA can act on hormone receptors, and human studies link higher exposure to changes in reproductive hormones and to insulin resistance. Those are associations, and regulators differ on what level is safe.

Do receipts contain BPA?

Many thermal paper receipts are coated with BPA or, increasingly, BPS. Cashiers who handled receipts without gloves had about double the urinary BPA after a shift.

What does BPA-free mean?

Only that the product does not contain bisphenol A. It may contain BPS or BPF, which have similar hormonal activity.