Bisphenol-A – It’s even worse than we thought!
Posted on | November 3, 2009 | 7 Comments
Update: Some additional resources for more information added below!
With controversy still raging over Sigg’s recent admission that their original water bottles — often touted, even by this blog, as a safe/BPA-free choice — contain minimal amounts of Bisphenol-A, a Consumer Reports study released yesterday illustrates that the BPA problem is even worse than we thought.
What it found was that even BPA-free canned food (like that produced by Eden Foods with special BPA cans made by Ball) still contain trace amounts of this toxic chemical, which has been shown to increase risk of both cancer and reproductive abnormalities in animal studies (and, even as the American Chemistry Council continues to deny that BPA is dangerous–the chemical’s FDA approval being their main evidence – Nice!–another study released this summer linked BPA exposure to heart problems).
So apparently BPA, a primary ingredient in polycarbonate and epoxy linings like those in canned goods, is also used in other equipment that commonly comes in contact with processed foods. Another scary alternative, the LA Times posits, is that BPA –BPA can now be found in water supplies and in dust– is making its way into fish and vegetables as they grow due to environmental contamination.
Things you can do to limit BPA exposure
- Stop buying canned goods – OK folks, I know these are convenience items, but when this story originally broke in 2007, I bought a crock pot to make soups and beans–the main things we ate out of cans–and I’ve never looked back. It’s cheaper, tastes better, is healthier (both because the food is fresher/less processed and because it is lower sodium!), and carries less environmental impact than canned foods.
- Check your hard plastic food receptacles – We ended up using several different Internet resources to determine which sippy cups and food containers were safest. Our switch to glass food containers has been a good one–they’re more durable, don’t hold on to stains/smells, and are microwave safe. And there are BPA free sippy cups out there. Even Sigg, who admittedly misled consumers about the BPA content of their original bottles, has dropped BPA entirely from its line of rather expensive but durable bottles.
- Beware plastic toys, especially teethers – Many toys sold as teethers or targeting an age group that makes it likely the product will end up in a child’s mouth still contain BPA. There is good information on Squiddo about finding safe teethers, as well as sippies and bottles. Note that BPA is not the only concern here–phthalates and lead are also a concern.
Today, Change.org launched a petition urging Campbell’s to remove BPA from its cans.
Also, check out some information about BPA from Healthy Child, Healthy World and The Smart Mama.
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About Terminal Verbosity
TV is the latest writing endeavor of Julie Artz, who has been blogging about just about anything that comes to her scattered mind since 2002.
Wife, mother, writer, gardener, flaming liberal, doesn't-know-when-to-keep-her-big-mouth-shut gabbergirl, obsessive reader, cook, appreciator of all fine food and bevies, Julie has finally reached Terminal Verbosity...
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November 3rd, 2009 @ 10:47 am
Do you worry about lead in your crock pot glaze? I want a new crock pot. I need more capacity, and when I googled the results said that my kind (green glaze) was the most likely to test positive for lead. You kinda can’t win, can you!?
November 3rd, 2009 @ 11:52 am
I’ll definitely be researching this today, Nicole. When someone suggested that to me a while back, a friend looked it up and told me lead in this sort of usage was banned years ago. So I’ll look into it and let you know (here) what I find out!
November 3rd, 2009 @ 12:46 pm
You can’t buy anything these days! It’s a bit scary to see how much garbage is in everything we use on a regular basis.
November 9th, 2009 @ 11:55 am
These companies just tick me off. Why can’t manufacturers make product safety their top priority?
November 9th, 2009 @ 9:26 pm
The only way that manufacturers will make product safety a priority is if the government requires it or the consumers demand it. Otherwise, honestly, safety is just too expensive in their minds. And government entities like the FDA are under tremendous pressure from industry to make things easy on corporations, so I doubt the government in this country will ever have adequate safety or environmental standards.
That leaves consumers. And we can influence things, but only if we’re both informed and willing to make a political statement — even if it’s more expensive or less convenient — with where we choose to spend our money. It’s happening bit by bit, but it’s taking an awful lot of time and at a pretty huge cost to the environment and our health.
November 10th, 2009 @ 12:53 am
[...] TWO: Having been reminded repeatedly (most recently via Crunchy Domestic Goddess and Terminal Verbosity) that canned goods are slowly killing us via BPA, I have to ask: do you think I want to buy a crock [...]
November 11th, 2009 @ 9:02 am
[...] Food is one of my main objectives towards living a better life. It’s also one of the scarier things to think about. What are they putting on my food? What did they do to it before It was packaged? What is in the packaging? [...]