Polycarbonate
PC / resin identification code 7（その他）
Storage container lids, water bottles. Its raw material bisphenol A was largely banned in the EU in 2024.
Main uses
- Storage container lids
- Water bottles and flasks
- Baby bottles in the past
Found in food, water and the human body
- Polycarbonate water bottles released particles after opening and closing 100 times (Song et al. 2021)
Detailed numbers by food: Baby bottles and formula preparation
Evaluations of raw materials and additives
- The raw material bisphenol A (BPA) is not classified by IARC
- EFSA (2023): lowered the TDI for BPA from 4 μg to 0.2 ng per kg of body weight per day; concluded it is exceeded in all age groups and is a “health concern”
- The EU, through Regulation (EU) 2024/3190, generally bans the use of BPA in food-contact plastics, coatings, and similar materials
IARC classifications rate the strength of evidence that something can cause cancer, not the size of the risk at everyday amounts.
Japan's standards (utensils, containers and packaging that touch food)
- MHLW Notification No. 370 (polycarbonate): leachable bisphenol A compounds 2.5 μg/mL or less, 500 μg/g or less in the material, and other limits
- BPA leaching from domestic polycarbonate baby bottles is around the limit of quantification (0.0005 ppm) (Consumer Affairs Agency)
General standards for all synthetic resins: cadmium and lead in the material 100 μg/g or less each, heavy metals migrating (as lead) 1 μg/mL or less, and others. Since June 2020, synthetic resins that touch food have been under a “positive list system” that sets which substances may be used (the transition period ended May 31, 2025). → Rules and regulation
Production in Japan
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polycarbonate | 228,851 t | 206,344 t | 191,021 t |
Compiled by the Japan Plastics Industry Federation (based on METI's production statistics). This is the amount made in Japan, not the amount used in Japan.
Sources
- EFSA CEP Panel. EFSA J 2023;21(4):e06857 (bisphenol A) (PMID 37089179)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, “About bisphenol A”
- Song K, et al. 2021 (PMID 34148170)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, standards for utensils, containers and packaging (Notification No. 370, Part 3) (Japanese)
- IARC List of Classifications
- Japan Plastics Industry Federation, statistics (Japanese)
Last checked 2026-10-01. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.