That blasted BPA is back in the news again, and this time it isn't good. This post isn't about congress acting about BPA, or the Kid Safe Chemicals Act. Nope.
This is about BPA in canned food. As I reported a few months ago, BPA is in the lining of canned foods, and the Globe and Mail has found high levels of BPA in the canned foods they tested.
How high are the levels? Twice that of what has folks ditching their old plastic baby bottles and nalgene water bottles. The highest amounts were found in foods often consumed by children, such as tomato sauce. Apparently, more leeching is likely to occur with acidic foods like tomatoes. Let's put this in perspective. BPA containing plastic baby bottles leech 6 parts per billion of BPA into milk. The Hunt's Tomato Sauce they tested had 18.21 parts per billion (yes, three times the amount in bottles).
According to the article, the test results are also conservative. The technician who ran the test said they used water, which is less likely to pull BPA from the lining of a can.
And here's something I didn't know. Most canned foods are heated up to over 100 degrees after the food or beverage has been added, to kill microbes, but thus increasing the amount of leeching of BPA into the food.
According to the Globe and Mail, "Less than half a cup of tomato sauce or a cup of chicken noodle soup would exceed the lowest dose found in recent research to have an adverse effect on animals. That was a 2005 experiment at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston on mice exposed to amounts far below those detected in the Globe/CTV testing."
That quote stopped me in my tracks. I still feed my girls canned Annie's spaghettios and ravoli. I don't think I will do this anymore.
I've been trying to buy tomato sauces in glass jars, only buy Eden foods beans, and buy soups in other types of containers. This is a problem, however, particularly with soups, because buying them in those waxed containers has much more of an environmental impact, since they aren't recyclable.
Read the Globe and Mail article linked above to see the list of canned foods they tested and the amounts of BPA they contained. Thanks to reader John (read his post about this here) who tipped me off on this article in the Globe and Mail.
11 comments:
I have been leaving behind most cans, but I always have cooked from scratch a lot-- including soups and sauces-- so it is not much of a change for me. The thought of that crap being in our food though... and then people defend the US food supply as being so wonderful... I just don't get it.
we have been buying canned fruit (pineapple, oranges, etc) but it seems the alternative is plastic containers that are a recycleable 7.. which contains BPA also, right? hmm...what to do.. better rethink my fruit choices. maybe with summer on the way, it will be easier. canned fruit is so fast! but not worth the risk, obviously.
I would double check with your recycling facility on those wax lined items. Ours recycles them. So it really varies depending on your recycling facility.
Statia,
Yes, I will check-- good idea! They seem (happily) to be taking more and more these days.
Shel,
I know, we are left with some hard choices. Make more waste or add to the toxic load of our kids. Or eat more veggies, but our grocery store doesn't always carry organic (so eat less conventional veggies?). There are always these choices, choices. It's a balancing act, really.
Maria,
I like making soup too, but not tomato soup. For some reason, I have it stuck in my head that it has to be from a can (maybe it was good 80s marketing when I was growing up--). Anyway, I am looking for a good and EASY tomato soup recipe!!
I have used this one before and liked it. I made a few modifications though-- using veggie broth instead of chicken primarily. Sometimes I add basil if I have some from the aerogarden. Oh, and because I don't have a food mill ... well for the past year since mine broke... I peel the tomato and remove the seeds prior to cooking. Then I use a food processor or I use a strainer and a wood spoon.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garden-Fresh-Tomato-Soup/Detail.aspx
Ugh, more to worry about! I agree that is all abut choices and balancing those choices to the best of our abilities.
Have you tried Imagine soups or Pacific soups? They come in a recyclable aseptic package that is majority paper. Plus they are yummy!
Thanks for the tips, Brenna and Maria! I will look for those soups at our co-op, and try to make the tomato soup, although I must admit I am LAZY about peeling and seeding tomatoes. I usually just throw the whole thing in. It should still taste good, right? :)
Thanks for the tips, I've been reading your blog for a few weeks now and enjoy your research, and even quoted you in my own blog a time or two.
I was going to ask about Trader Joes cans, but I did some internet sleuthing and found this article which says that Trader Joes it NOT BPA-free anymore:
http://organicgrace.com/node/316
Frank
Wow, that is powerful information. Over the past few years I've tried to learn more about chemical-free living and the more information I find, the harder it becomes... but I keep working on this goal! I am new to blogging and really enjoyed your site! I'll bookmark it for sure!
www.momgoinggreen.wordpress.com
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