Cash register receipts contain Bisphenol A (BPA), which could easily pass onto humans, according to a new study. The chemical can disrupt hormones, and is linked to such diseases as diabetes, some cancers and obesity.
Bisphenol A is used in the manufacture of water bottles, food and beverage containers, dental composites, and thermal paper for cash registers.
University of Missouri researchers found the chemical can readily be absorbed into human bloodstreams from receipts. The effect was readily apparent in subjects who used skin care products before handling the receipts, according to researchers.
The chemical was first developed as a hormone supplement to compliment actions of the female hormone estrogen.
"Store and fast food receipts, airline tickets, ATM receipts and other thermal papers all use massive amounts of BPA on the surface of the paper as a print developer. The problem is, we as consumers have hand sanitizers, hand creams, soaps and sunscreens on our hands that drastically alter the absorption rate of the BPA found on these receipts," Frederick vom Saal, biologist with the College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri, said.
Subjects in the study were asked to wash their hands with sanitizer prior to handling the receipts. Volunteers then ate french fries with their bare hands, before BPA levels in their blood were measured.
Researchers discovered the hormone-like substance was easily transmitted from the receipts to the food before being ingested into the body.
Bisphenol A has been banned from use in the manufacture of baby bottles in Europe, over concerns of health effects on developing bodies.
Use of BPA in food storage containers is tightly regulated by governments, but this is not the case for receipts. These innocuous slips of paper could provide a new route of transmission for BPA to enter the human circulatory system, researchers noted.
"Our research found that large amounts of BPA can be transferred to your hands and then to the food you hold and eat as well as be absorbed through your skin. BPA exhibits hormone-like properties and has been proven to cause reproductive defects in fetuses, infants, children and adults as well as cancer, metabolic and immune problems in rodents," vom Saal told the press.
Health professionals are, so far, divided on the question of how much danger is posed by the chemical.
"Based on FDA's ongoing safety review of scientific evidence, the available information continues to support the safety of BPA for the currently approved uses in food containers and packaging. People are exposed to low levels of BPA because, like many packaging components, very small amounts of BPA may migrate from the food packaging into foods or beverages," the Food and Drug Administration reports on their Web site.
Study of the incidence and transmission of BPA through cash register receipts was published in the journal PLOS One.
