Report: BPA in Thanksgiving Canned Food

[tabatha]

An unwelcome visitor may be joining your Thanksgiving feast: bisphenol A. BPA is an estrogenic chemical that lab studies have linked to breast cancer.

The Breast Cancer Fund wanted to know how much BPA may be in a typical Thanksgiving meal, so we tested canned foods used to make popular Thanksgiving dishes:

• Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Campbell's Turkey Gravy
• Carnation Evaporated Milk (by Nestle)
• Del Monte Fresh Cut Sweet Corn, Cream Style
• Green Giant Cut Green Beans (by General Mills)
• Libby's Pumpkin (by Nestle)
• Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce



For half of the products tested, a single 120-gram serving of the food contains enough BPA to show adverse health impacts in lab studies. Have some pumpkin pie after your green bean casserole and gravy, and the amount of BPA delivered to each holiday diner adds up to a concerning chemical dose.

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/big-picture-solutions/make-our-products-safe/cans-not-cancer/bpa-thanksgiving-food.html

[CoffeeCat]

1. So, is this a chemical....

...in all canned food?

Geez. Trying to figure out what to eat for lunch is like trying to jog through a field full of land mines.

It's really aggravating.

[sfwriter]

2. Here's a tip...

Eat food. It does not come in cans.

Not to be a smart ass, but I'm starting to equate "processed" with "poisoned."

[CoffeeCat]

4. I hear what you're saying...

...and I'm trying, but it is difficult.

I have two children and eating everthing fresh and organic is hard.

Plus, we're not millionaires. I switched to eating very healthy--and our grocery bill
nearly doubled. 70 percent of what i eat is very healthy--I do try.

Good reminder though.

You're right, if it's processed--it is poison.

[Ilsa]

3. Which half of those products had the BPA?

I really like keing canned corn and beans on hand. I can do without the soup and gravy, though.

[Fokker Trip]

5. The BPA is in the plastic/resin that lines the can. The white paint-like stuff.

It stops the metal from corroding into the food. Its the white lining in the cans but it can be clear too as far as I know. I think that all aluminum cans are coated with it too (soda cans?)

From what I've read there are no good alternatives yet, but that is also perhaps a cost issue. Even organic tinned tomatoes have BPA lined cans.

Some cans are still galvanized inside (friut from South Africa, etc.) and most likely (haven't researched it yet) releases Zinc into the food. That may be better, but I suspect that acidic foods like canned tomatoes would eat the zinc off the can fairly quickly. Mmmm zinc.

The only tinned food that I buy now is tinned tomatoes in the largest possible cans (hoping to lower the ppm of the BPA per serving).

Its a real worry, especially for children and their developing systems.

I got an All American pressure canner this year (what a beautifully made piece of gear) for a good price and have been canning my own beans and stews, etc.

Glass is the only really safe alternatve and canning isn't nearly as time consuming as I thought it would be. There is a film of BPA on the canning snap lid but it only touches the food for the 90 minutes of pressure canning(the food boils in the jar and so spatters on the lid).

I suspect that all the cans in the picture are lined with BPA, but that the ones that show BPA contamination are the more acidic foods.

[blondie58]

6. there are brands that don't use bpa

I am drawlng a blank on their names right
Now. But they're out there at the health food stores.