USU's Latest Research Strengthens Rows Of Scientific Evidence, BPA Is Not Detected In Galon Packaging Drinking Water

JAKARTA - Until now, misinformation is still circulating regarding the alleged chemical compound Bisphenol-A BPA luruh in drinking water packaging gallons of PC polycarbonates exposed to sunlight. In response to this, the USU University Organic Chemical Study Group conducted independent research to examine the lurusan of BPA on four 4 of the most popular local and national gallon bottled water brands in Medan City, North Sumatra.

Today the USU research team released the results of a study showing that the BPA was not detected in all tested samples, including those exposed to sunlight.

Prof. Dr. Juliati Tarigan, M.Si, Professor of Organic Chemicals, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of North Sumatra, USU as Chair of the Research Team confirmed that in all the gallon water samples of polycarbonates examined, whether exposed or not exposed to sunlight, there was no detection of luruhan or migration of BPA. Thus, the public does not need to worry about consuming gallon bottled drinking water, because the most popular brands in the city of Medan are proven safe for consumption.

This finding also refuted the assumption that the migration of BPA from gallons made from polycarbonates could occur if the packaging was exposed to sunlight.

"Although gallons are distributed during the day, BPA migration into drinking water will not occur if the temperature does not reach 159 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the highest temperature recorded in Indonesia only reaches 38.5 degrees Celsius," added Prof. Juliati, in her statement, quoted on Tuesday, February 11.

Prof. Juliati explained that chemically, BPA has a melting point at 159 degrees Celsius. This shows that the BPA in polycarbonate packaging can only drop at very high temperatures, up to above 159 degrees Celsius. In addition, BPA has a very low solubility in water, so it is likely that it dissolves from a gallon packaging of polycarbonates into drinking water, which is very small.

Prof. Juliati explained that the samples were collected from four 4 brands of drinking water in gallons for re-package made from a common and popular PC polycarbonate found in Medan. The four samples consist of the two most popular national AMDK product brands, namely AQUA and Prima, as well as two 2 local brand samples, namely Amoz and Himudo.

Each brand is taken three 3 samples from different distribution points. The samples were taken at three 3 storage conditions, namely normal or not exposed to direct sun, as well as conditions with direct sun exposure for 5 and 10 days.

"Our testing is done triplo or carried out using three samples or three tests. It is very important to do triplo testing on food samples so that the first data can be compared to the second or third data, so that the final results obtained are more accurate," said Prof. Juliati.

The sample was tested using the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography HPLC or Casimatography of KCKT High Performance, which is a very sophisticated instrument to detect the content of BPA in water up to the level of microgram per liter (L).

In 2024, the Polymer Study Group of the Bandung Institute of Technology ITB has conducted independent research on the safety and quality of drinking water in AMDK packaging on the four most popular gallon drinking water brands made from polycarbonates in West Java Province. The results also show that no BPA luluhan was detected in all the gallon drinking water samples tested.

Meanwhile, there were two similar studies conducted in Makassar, South Sulawesi. The first research was conducted by Endah Dwijayanti, S.S., M.Sc., Chair of the Makassar Islamic University Chemical Study Program, entitled Analysis of Bisphenol-A and Di-ethylhexyl Phthalates in the Circulating Galon Water in Makassar City. This research was published in the Food Scientific, Journal of Food Science and Technology, Open University in June 2023. The results showed that all samples of drinking water tested were free from harmful substances and no BPA compounds were detected.

The second study was conducted by Ir. Gusnawati, ST, MT., Lecturer of the Chemical Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Industrial Technology at the University of Muslim Indonesia UMI with the title "Melement Migration Analysis of Bisphenol-A BPA Plastic Packaging of PC Policarbonates on Drinking Water Products in Galon Packaging in Makassar City Area".

This study was published in Jambura, Journal of Chemistry, Gorontalo State University in 2023. The results showed that no BPA was found in the gallon of polycarbonates with code No.7 which were stored indoors or outdoors for 7 days.

Various studies that have been carried out in various regions in Indonesia have stated that there has been no detection of the lurusan BPA in drinking water in a gallon of polycarbonate. Thus, gallon bottled drinking water is proven safe for consumption by the public and does not pose a risk to health.