## 5 BPA Levels in Raw/Non-Canned Meat Products  
Although many studies have investigated the concentration of BPA in processed foods, BPA contamination of raw meats from the environment and/or contact with other BPA containing sources has been little investigated. In fact, EFSA published a scientific opinion stating that both canned and non-canned meat were the main BPA contributors among the different food items when it comes to BPA exposure. However, the concentration of BPA in the canned samples was found to be higher than in non-canned (raw) ones. Among the 19 different non-canned food categories, the highest BPA levels, on average, were found in meat products as well as seafood and fish products with levels of 9.4 and 7.4 \(\upmu\)g/kg, respectively [5].  
Reported occurrences of BPA in non-canned/raw meat and meat products are summarized in Table 3. [PERSON] et al. reported that 17% of dietary exposure to BPA arose from non-canned animal products [6]. However, no specific explanation as to the source of the contamination in these foodstuffs was put forward. [PERSON] et al. collected and analysed a broad range of 322 foods of animal origin representing two categories, namely pre-packed and cut-to-order, from several locations within the French territory [16]. These authors reported on average lower BPA concentrations in raw beef steak, pork chop, mutton, roast pork, and veal (2.93, 1.61, 3.19, 3.45, and 1.16 \(\upmu\)g/kg, respectively), than the concentrations reported in the study of [PERSON] (3.40, 16.95, 7.76, 12.44, 34.41 \(\upmu\)g/kg, respectively) [6], while [PERSON] and [PERSON] reported that BPA was not detected in raw beef, chicken, cheese, apple, tomatoes, beans and rice; and chicken eggs collected from Southwest Nigeria [77]. Furthermore, [PERSON] et al. also investigated the concentration of conjugated, including monoglucuronide, diglucuronide, and sulfate forms of BPA in the collected samples [16]. However, no conjugated forms of BPA were found, suggesting that BPA was not metabolised from environmental intake by the animal but arose from contamination of the meat during post-mortem processing. According to the report published by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) on the average BPA contamination of foods, cut-to-order food items were statistically almost as likely to be contaminated as pre-packed foodstuffs. The results showed some evidence of contamination during processing. However, the potential contamination source was not identified due to a lack of precise data on the processing conditions such as sample handling, cutting location, or types of material used [81]. In this context, the authors want to highlight that the non-observing fact of BPA metabolites in raw meats could be related with the instability of these compounds particularly glucuronide (BPA-1G) under different preparation and storage conditions. For instance, [PERSON] et al. reported the rapid hydrolysis of BPA-1G into BPA aglycone in aqueous/organic solutions at lower pH (2) and 80 \({}^{\circ}\)C, the hydrolysis also occurred even at neutral pH and room temperature (22 \({}^{\circ}\)C) in some biological samples such as diluted urine and in rat placental or fetal tissue. Although BPA-1G was moderately stable in rat plasma up to 24 hr (at neutral pH and 22 \({}^{\circ}\)C), the authors have reported the degradation of metabolites present in urine/water mixture or urine/acetonitrile (25/75) stored at pH 9 at either 22 or 80 \({}^{\circ}\)C into unknown compounds [82]. Therefore, sample collection, storage, and preparation are crucial for the analysis of BPA metabolites in raw meat samples.  
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