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Simultaneous Determination of Bisphenol A and Its Analogues in Food Matrixes: Cumulative Exposure Assessment Following New Regulatory Restrictions—A Systematic Review
Summary
As bisphenol A faces near-zero regulatory limits in the EU, food exposure assessments show that combined dietary intake of BPA and its structural analogues can push the cumulative Hazard Index above 1, particularly as less-regulated analogues fill its place. This is critical for microplastic research because plastic food packaging is the primary dietary exposure route for bisphenols, and the substitution problem mirrors broader challenges in regulating plastic-derived chemical pollutants.
Recent scientific evidence confirms that there is no safe threshold for bisphenol A intake, prompting strict regulatory actions and new prohibitions in the European Union. As a result, bisphenol A has increasingly been replaced by other analogues that are also toxic but less regulated and insufficiently studied, posing a new risk to human health due to cumulative exposure. Since food is the primary source of exposure to these compounds, this review aimed to evaluate the most appropriate existing chromatographic methods for their determination under newly introduced near-zero tolerance limits, as well as to assess current cumulative dietary exposure and associated health risks. A systematic literature search was conducted in major scientific databases and relevant regulatory sources covering the period from 2015 to 2025, following PRISMA guidelines. Of the 489 identified publications, 22 met the eligibility criteria for full-text analysis. The findings indicate a clear methodological shift towards simultaneous quantification of multiple bisphenol analogues, with LC-MS/MS emerging as the dominant and most robust analytical technique. Dietary exposure to bisphenol A is expected to decline due to stricter regulations; however, this may trigger a rise in the use of its structural analogues as alternatives. Exposure assessments indicate that combined dietary intake of bisphenol A and its analogues can result in a Hazard Index exceeding 1, primarily due to the substantially reduced Tolerable Daily Intake for bisphenol A. This highlights the need for continuous monitoring under stricter regulatory frameworks.