frances ban on bisphenol a bpa in march 2013 the united states expressed concern regarding a french law adopted in december 2012 on food packaging made with bisphenol a bpa . the legislation required all food packaging made with bpa to be accordingly labelled. in addition food packaging made with bpa would be prohibited after 1 january 2015. the united states indicated that this measure would have a significant negative effect on trade due to the wide range of products that would be subject to the law. given the serious nature of the potential trade concerns the united states strongly urged the european union to notify this ban to the sps or the tbt committee at its earliest convenience and to provide a scientific risk assessment to support the restriction. the european union explained that its member states could adopt national measures in areas where no legislation existed at an eu-wide level if they were in conformity with the treaty on the functioning of the european union. in particular the treaty allows the adoption of national measures if they are deemed necessary in view of protecting the health and lives of the citizens. france had justified its national measures on these grounds and had adopted its law on the basis of the hazard assessments conducted by the french agency for food environmental and occupational health and safety anses . two reports on bpa were issued by anses one report on the use of bpa in products and another that identified hazards for human health. the french legislation stipulated that from 1 january 2013 bpa could not be used in any materials and articles containing food intended for infants and children u to and including three years of age. from 1 january 2015 it introduced a complete ban of the use of bpa in all food contact materials and a labelling provision for pregnant women and young children in the interim period. the european union was now awaiting the outcome of efsas on-going risk assessment on the use of bpa in all food contact applications the first conclusions of which were expected to be available before the summer. the european union indicated that once it had all the relevant information on which to base its decision including the efsa opinion and information on the availability of safe alternatives it would decide on the french national measure and on bpa in food contact materials in the european union. in march 2015 the united states recalled its concerns over frances ban on the use of the chemical bisphenol a bpa in the production of food containers and food contact surfaces including cans for baby food beginning 1 january 2013 and for all foods beginning on 1 january 2015. the united states urged the european union to notify this ban to the sps committee and requested france to provide its risk assessment supporting the ban. the united states also highlighted the lack of scientific basic for the ban by recalling the assessment on bpa released by the us food and drug administration the european food safety authority efsa and the german federal risk assessment institute bfr . according to the united states all agencies found no safety issues with bpa that exposure to bpa from the diet or a combination of sources was considerably under the safe level and therefore poses no health risk to consumers. the united states therefore urged france to rescind the ban on bpa. the european union explained that as a general rule eu member states may adopt their own national measures in areas that are not harmonised at an eu level. for areas that are harmonized at eu level member states may in addition temporarily suspend or restrict application of the harmonized eu provisions within their territory when as a result of new information or reassessment of existing information it has detailed grounds for concluding that the use of the material endangers human health. for areas where there is no harmonized measure member states may adopt national provisions if they are deemed necessary