Study links tinned food to increase in Bisphenol A
BPA in the dogs increased almost three-fold after being on canned diets for two weeks.
Feeding dogs tinned food results in a significant increase of Bisphenol A (BPA) in their blood, new research suggests.
Bisphenol A is a widely used industrial chemical found in many household items, including resins used to line food cans.
But now a new study by the University of Missouri has found that even short-term feeding of canned food to dogs results in a significant increase of BPA.
In the study, researchers took blood and fecal samples from healthy dogs, prior to putting them on one of two commercial canned food diets. After two weeks, the team analysed the cans and the food they contained for BPA levels and performed gut microbiome assessments.
“The dogs in the study did have minimal circulating BPA in their blood when it was drawn for the baseline. However, BPA increased nearly three-fold after being on either of the two canned diets for two weeks," explains study author Cheryl Rosenfeld from the MU College of Veterinary Medicine.
“We also found that increased serum BPA concentrations were correlated with gut microbiome and metabolic changes in the dogs analysed. Increased BPA may also reduce one bacterium that has the ability to metabolise BPA and related environmental chemicals.”
The study, “Bisphenol A (BPA) in the serum of pet dogs following short-term consumption of canned dog food and potential health consequences of exposure to BPA” is published in Science of the Total Environment.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
