I have the same concerns -- I love my AeroPress dearly, but I didn't use it this morning and I don't feel like I can use it again. I'm not usually paranoid about every new health concern, but this one sounds serious enough to make me swear off my favorite way of making coffee.
Alan, please, please, consider making a stainless steel or glass AeroPress!
I have the same concerns -- I love my AeroPress dearly, but I didn't use it this morning and I don't feel like I can use it again. I'm not usually paranoid about every new health concern, but this one sounds serious enough to make me swear off my favorite way of making coffee.
Alan, please, please, consider making a stainless steel or glass AeroPress!
I will be happy to buy two brand-new non-Bis-A AeroPresses, but I suspect it may be awhile before (if ever) we see such a unit.
Will I stop using my AP in the meanwhile? I haven't crossed that bridge yet, but maybe after I read the Bis-A reports more thoroughly I'll make a decision. If I give up the AP, I probably won't go back to a French Press because of cholesterol concerns from not using a paper filter, so I may have to take my drip coffee maker out of storage (and use a paper filter, not the gold mesh one it comes with). :(
It certainly makes sense to pay attention to one's Bisphenol-A consumption. I'm concerned about this and have been doing just that. The following is not intended to suggest how much BPA is acceptable. But it's interesting to apply some math to published data on this subject.
Migration of BPA from Polycarbonate Cookware to Food:
There is a wide range of test results on migration of BPA from polycarbonate cookware to food. Many reports detect no migration. I use a mid-range example below from the Journal of the Food Hygienic Society of Japan. However this same report detected no migration from many polycarbonate products tested.
1988.99:206-212. Migration of Bisphenol A From Polycarbonate Products. This report found 26 ppb (parts per billion) migration on the first use. By the fifth use this has dropped to 1.5 ppb. That equates to 0.34 micrograms of BPA in an 8-ounce mug of coffee or .005 ppb of body weight for a 150 lb person.
Acceptable Levels of BPA Consumption:
Below are some published recommended limits and the corresponding daily number of mugs of AeroPress coffee required to reach that limit.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 50 ppb = 10,000 mugs of coffee per day.
Health Canada Provisional Limit 25 ppb = 5,000 mugs of coffee per day.
The Environmental Working Group This is a group lobbying against BPA. http://www.ewg.org/node/20936 2 ppb = 400 mugs of coffee per day. This is the lowest published limit I've found.
Other Relevant Information:
BPA is in the lining of most canned foods. An average can of chicken soup has been measured to contain 177 micrograms of BPA which is the equivalent of 520 cups of AeroPress coffee.
The European Food Safety Authority estimates the total dietary exposure of BPA for the average adult at 1.5 ppm which is the equivalent of 300 cups of AeroPress coffee. (EFSA Q-2005-100, November 29, 2006, Table 1.)
The half-life of BPA in the human bloodstream has been measured as 3.5 hours. (Reproductive Toxicol. 15: 589-90)
Note that I've not used industry-sponsored BPA data for this post. Their data often finds no migration from polycarbonate cookware to food.
We will soon be testing the actual migration from the AeroPress, however it's unlikely that it will be substantially higher than the amount used here which was based on the Journal of the Food Hygienic Society of Japan. If however the AeroPress migrated ten times the level assumed here, then about 30 cups of AeroPress coffee would equal the average adult's daily consumption of BPA.
We will soon be testing the actual migration from the AeroPress, however it's unlikely that it will be substantially higher than the amount used here which was based on the Journal of the Food Hygienic Society of Japan.
1988.99:206-212. Migration of Bisphenol A From Polycarbonate Products. This report found 26 ppb (parts per billion) migration on the first use. By the fifth use this has dropped to 1.5 ppb.
The above suggests that after a few uses the AeroPress should migrate almost zero ppb of Bis-A. Will your tests compare a brand-new AP as well as one that has had several uses (i.e., at least 5)?
I dream of an Aeropress made of pyrex glass (chamber and plunger). I suppose the filter holder would need to be stainless steel. That leaves just the rubber part of the plunger in question... and I doubt there's anything that can take its place; is there any Bis-A contained in the rubber part of the plunger?
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