What's in your canned goods?

Since I've had a baby, my husband and I have been learning all about what's in everything and we've found some surprising and disturbing issues especially with food. One in particular is with BPA, or Bisphenol A. You may know it from hearing about Baby bottle issues with BPA. Now every bottle is labelled BPA free, and that's a great thing. What you may not know is that BPA is still used and widely in many products.

BPA is controversial because it mimics hormone-like properties when used, affecting the endocrine system. It can also affect neurological, thyroid, heart issues and possibly be linked to cancer . Take a look at the FDAs page on public health effects of BPA.... And some how it is still used in polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins used in almost all can linings and has been found in some paper products you may use. that's pretty frightening!

Wikipedia has an amazing in depth look into BPA, please take a look to understand the history and a more well rounded idea of what it can cause.

So you figure since it has been shown to cause issues, it shouldn't be used right? Especially if you are a breastfeeding woman eating canned goods, you can transfer it to your infant, who is most at risk for hormonal issues with this chemical. Baby bottles aren't the only container to change...

 

What is shocking, is that most companies have not tried to stop using BPA in their canned linings..well no one advertising themselves as BPA-free except ONE, who uses a vegetable based enamel material to safely line their cans, Eden Foods! You can read more about how they came to that decision and why on their website. If this concerns you at all, please support them in their thoughtful change and purchase their canned goods instead.

Besides cans, BPA is also found in register receipts or thermal point of sale receipts, carbonless copy paper, and can be found on bills of money, since so many of us save receipts in wallets and the BPA residue can get on the bills. Recycled paper such as toilet paper also have traces of BPA, since receipt paper is used when the recycling process is done. BPA is also being found in wastewater, due to the traces in toilet paper leaching into the water supply.

I don't know what the answer is to the toilet paper issue, unfortunately we all use it and it seems until the recycling of these BPA paper products is dealt with, we will continue to add more of this disrupting chemical into our environment. Atleast as consumers, we can support companies like Eden, like these few other organic companies , and demand change from others who still use BPA lined cans, it seems like it's crazy for a company especially selling organic food to use BPA lined cans!

Thanks for reading my rant..until the next (: