BPA Free and No phenols added products certification

Why to certify your products and cash receipts as “BPA FREE” and “No phenols added”?

Bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor

The bisphenol A (BPA) is used as monomer for the polymerization of plastic or for his antioxidant proprieties. It is used to cover the inner layer of tin can containing foods and the inner layer of water pipes. It is also used in the fabrication of reusable plastic like baby bottle, bottles, tableware. Moreover, the BPA is added to thermal paper because it is a color revelator for thermal printing process used by all of the point of sale cash desk.  
The issue is that BPA has been revealed as being an endocrine disruptor, which means that it may interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife.
 
Since June 23, 2010, the use of BPA is forbidden in the production of plastic used to contain foods because of his facility to transfer between the plastic and the food.  
Since this restriction, industrials must find a substitute for BPA. Bisphenol S and bisphenol F are the two mains substitute for BPA but they are supposed to have the same human health toxic proprieties.
Ineris leads for several years many research and technical projects for the French ministry of ecology about the risks link to endocrine disruptor.
Thanks to Ineris’s expertise in chemical substances fields, the institute contributes on the constitution of the restriction dossier for the use of BPA according to the European regulation REACh.

The Ineris « BPA FREE » certification

In response to the French Ministry, Ineris takes part of the French National Strategic Plan against Endocrine Disruptor which was launched in 2014 by Ségolène Royal, minister of the environment, energy and the sea, Ineris developed and propose to professionals the certification “BPA FREE”.
This certification delivered by Ineris is a voluntary certification, it is not an obligation, but it guarantees that receipts and cash bank receipts do not contain bisphenol A but also BPS and BPF; This certification can be accorded to manufacturers of thermal papers and also for users like big points of sales.

The two first certifications were attributed in January 2015 for the manufacturer of thermal papers KOEHLER in Germany and for the supermarkets chain Lidl France.

Extension of the certification “BPA FREE” to “No phenols added”

After the demand of the French Ministry, Ineris expended the label to a family of fifteen phenolic compounds including BPA, BPS and BPF. Those phenolic substances are known to be used in thermal paper as color thermal revelator like the BPA.

The first “No phenols added” certifications were attributed in February 2017 to the French supermarket chains Carrefour, Lidl France and Système U.

The certifications “BPA FREE” and “No phenols added” confirm the application of Ineris in the voluntary certification for the industrial field (ATEX, SIL Certifications), for the innovation (nanotechnologies) and for sustainable technologies (electrical battery, ecological technologies).

How to certify your product “No phenols added”?

Holders of certification must comply with the requirements defined by the monitoring procedure for the process of manufacturing and converting the certified products, to ensure that the certified product still conform to the certification scheme and are free of the bisphenols concerned.

The certification scheme is based on a protocol, developed by Ineris, for the measurement of fifteen phenolic compounds in thermal paper, based on recognized chemical analysis techniques widely practiced by laboratories in France and other countries.

The different steps for the initial attribution of the certification "No phenols added"