Canned food exposing consumers to harmful levels of BPA
The food in your pantry might not be as safe as you think. Meals involving one or more cans of food can cause an individual to ingest levels of BPA that have been shown to cause health effects in laboratory animal studies, according to a new study released today by The National Workgroup for Safe Markets, a coalition of public health and environmental health groups.
The study, No Silver Lining, tested food from 50 cans from 19 US states and one Canadian province for BPA contamination. Over 90% of the cans tested had detectable levels of BPA, some at higher levels than have been detected in previous studies.
The study comes as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is proposing a regulation to phase out BPA from baby bottles and cups, but does not include food cans.
The canned foods tested were brand name fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, soups, tomato products, sodas, and milks, which together represent “real-life” meal options for a wide range of North American consumers. The cans were purchased from retail stores and were chosen from report participants’ pantry shelves, then sent to an independent laboratory for testing. One can of Del Monte green beans had the highest levels of BPA ever found in canned food, at 1,140 parts per billion.
Rev. Dr. Jim Antal submitted cans from his home in Framingham, Massachusetts, to be tested. Antal, who is Conference Minister and President of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ, had his body tested for environmental contaminants, including BPA, three years ago.
“Three years ago when my body was tested for BPA and other environmental contaminants no one knew the danger threshold of these chemicals,” Antal said. “Because Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow and other advocacy and scientific organizations have continued to speak out, now we see changes in water bottle manufacturing and we're learning that even tiny doses matter. It’s way past time that Massachusetts regulate the use of BPA and other chemicals to protect the lives of our children and future generations to the fullest extent possible.”
No Silver Lining shows there is no consistency in the amount of BPA in specific food brands or in types of food, which prevents consumers from being able to avoid BPA canned foods just by looking at a label. For example, two different cans of the same brand of peas with two separate “lot numbers” were drastically different: one had six parts per billion of BPA, while the other had over 300 parts per billion of BPA.
“We commissioned this study to see how much BPA might be consumed from canned foods in a typical, everyday American diet,” explained Mia Davis from Clean Water Action, one of the report’s co-authors. “We wondered - is the BPA ingested in canned foods alone enough to cause concern? Unfortunately, it is, and we know that we’re exposed daily to hormone disruptors like BPA from other sources as well.”
“BPA is a bad actor chemical that should not be in contact with food we eat,” said Laura Vandenberg, PhD, Tufts University, a leading BPA researcher. “Hundreds of independent peer-reviewed scientific studies have found harm from low doses of BPA. The levels found in this study are definitely concerning, and indicate that the time has come to remove this chemical from food cans.”
When mom told us to eat our veggies, she didn’t know that we’d also be eating a synthetic sex hormone called BPA - and how would she? It isn’t on the label. But now we know and so it’s time for Governor Patrick and Massachusetts DPH to take action and protect children and developing fetuses from BPA. While this study focused on food cans, we see the exact same problem in infant formula cans and other food and beverage containers. We urge that Massachusetts expand the proposed ban to include these products.
