Thermal Receipts Contain Bisphenols, but Exposure Levels Remain Low for Most Consumers

Receipts printed on thermal paper use bisphenol‑based developers, chemicals that can act as endocrine disruptors. A 2025 study by the Center for Environmental Health suggested that holding a receipt for only ten seconds could expose a person to unsafe bisphenol levels. However, 2023 research estimated that the average daily dose from receipts is between 5,000 and 50 million times lower than the European Food Safety Authority’s safety threshold, and even workers who handle many receipts daily would receive about 100 times that amount—still well below regulatory limits. While bisphenols can interfere with hormones and have been linked to reproductive and metabolic disorders, the bulk of human exposure comes from food packaging rather than receipts. For most consumers, handling receipts poses a low‑risk activity, though those in retail or food service may consider simple precautions to reduce contact.