Using BPA-free plastic not any safer - study

BPA -free plastic might not be any better than what we were using before, new research has found.

The additive, also known as Bisphenol A, helps make plastic durable and tough - but in the late 1990s, researchers at Washington State University found exposure to BPA caused chromosomal abnormalities in mice eggs.

That discovery was accidental - BPA leeched out of plastic cages used to hold the mice after they were washed with a strong detergent.

"In the intervening 20 years, our studies and those of colleagues have described the effects of BPA exposure on the developing brain, heart, lung, prostate, mammary gland and other tissues, and our studies have described serious effects on the production of both eggs and sperm," researcher Patricia Hunt wrote in an article for The Conversation.

"Together these findings inflamed debate about the safety of BPA and resulted in the rapid appearance of 'BPA-free' products."

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