5 Ways to Keep Bisphenol A, or BPA, Out of Your Food
With studies stacking up against the chemical, here's what you need to know to lower your exposure
With yesterday's study linking bisphenol A—a chemical in hard plastics and the linings of food and beverage cans—to diabetes and heart disease, you may be wondering what you can do to minimize your exposure. The Environmental Working Group last year conducted an analysis of BPA in various canned foods and found the amount varies widely depending on the food. Condensed milk, for instance, has relatively little BPA, while infant formula has a lot more—about one fifth the safe dose limit set by the Food and Drug Administration. Of course, the potential risk also depends on how much you consume. Canned soda has less BPA per serving than some other foods, but if you're having a six pack a day...
Here are some good rules of thumb for reducing your intake of BPA.
1. Buy your tomato sauce in glass jars. Canned tomato sauce is likely to have higher levels of BPA because the high acidity of the tomatoes causes more of the chemical to leach from the lining of the can. Think beyond plain tomato sauce to any canned pasta—like ravioli and those fun-looking kids' meals.
2. Consume frozen or fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned. In addition to their BPA-free benefit, fresh and frozen produce usually have more nutrients, which often get lost in the process of canning. Eden Foods does offer canned beans that are BPA-free.
3. Purchase beverages in plastic or glass bottles. Canned soda and juice often contain some BPA. You don't need to worry, though, about disposable plastic water bottles. Most don't contain bisphenol A, and those that do are usually marked on the bottom with a number 7 recycling code.
4. Use powdered infant formula instead of ready-to-serve liquid. A separate assessment from the Environmental Working Group found that liquid formulas contain more BPA than powdered brands.
5. Think in terms of moderation. You don't need to avoid all canned foods. Just consult the chart below and follow a sensible approach, eating less of those foods that are high in BPA. Click here for the full report on canned foods.
Reader Comments
Eden's Organic Canned Foods - cans lined with a natural substance
Check out the food company "Eden's Organic" on the web.
Their cans are lined with a natural substance rather than plastic. Eden's Organic spends hundreds of thousands of dollars extra each year to do this, but the cans are not lined with a synthetic plastic.
I make a special trip to the Whole Foods grocery store to purchase their products, specifically for this reason.
Keep up the good work Eden's Organic!
Bisphenol A or BPA
I bought two coloured water bottles from Katmandu outlet. I have just read the article from the NZ Herald dated December 3, 2008. I looked under the bottles and lo, number 7 and 'PC' recycling tag on the bottom. This is how you can identify plastics that have BPA. From the Herald report: "The difference between the Government response and the in-the-field response couldn't have felt more compelling when I asked John Reeve from the NZ Food Safety Authority if he would feel comfortable feeding his child with a BPA baby bottle. His reply, 'It wouldn't worry me at all'. But when I asked Canterbury University's Dr Shaw, a leader in the field, he didn't hesitate. 'Absolutely and categorically no.' I'm listening to Dr Shaw.
Tjhe efffects of BPA (Bisphenol A)
Being a retired chief engineer in mission success and failure analysis, I am familiar with some subtle annomalies.
If it is not cost prohibitive, I suggest that each major brand of vegetables, especiallt those that are highly acidic, e.g.,tomatoes and sauses, etc. be tested in a controlled environment for BPA. The federal governmewnt has only in recent years placed expiration dates on metal canned goods. Choose the ones that are appraching the expiration date and run the scientific and recognmized test, and also with maximum allowed stored temperature, on thousands of samples to make the results valid. Give the results to an unbaised agency for their recommendation.
advertisement
