make your own bpa-free canning lids?

[lingon]

We eat a lot of diced tomatoes, and I would love to can my own so as to be bpa-free. However, most of my jars are mason, and the ball flat lids have bpa in them. I was wondering about making my own flats. What if I cut a circle out of surgical stainless steel and bought some rubber or clear silicone o-rings? Or a circle of glass (though that might have to be too thick for the normal ball mason rings to screw on firmly)

Unfortunately, this plan might end up being more expensive than buying the glass wire clamp type canning jars.

Anyone thought of this or tried this? What type of o-ring would be safest?

[krankedyann]

I wouldn't risk this. A bad seal can make you very sick and unless you make it just right, it won't seal and you're wasting your time and money.

I would assume the BPA risk for home-canned is minimal because the stuff isn't soaking in it like it is in commerically processed food. I just throw away whatever is clinging to the top of the lid when I pop open a jar.

[mamadelbosque]

A huge YEAH THAT to krankedynn! I would *NEVER* eat anything canned in a jar w/ a home made seal. The risk of not having a perfect seal and getting botulism or something from it is *WAY* too high for my sanity. And I'm not a super picky person, at all.

I canned 100+ jars of tomatos 2 yrs ago in mason jars and felt totally comfy w/ them - the amount of BPA in them had to be tiny, especially in comparison to store-bought stuff. Food just isn't in contact w/ it for very long at all - just those few minutes while its processing that it has any contact at all.

Good luck!

[beanma]

Way back when, when my mom was still canning and putting up jellies and jams she always used to put about an inch or two thick layer of parafin wax on top as a seal and then the lid. Would something like that work to protect from the evils of the BPA in the lid? You could still use the lid, but it would be touching the wax instead of the food. You, could, of course, also use something besides parafin – maybe beeswax or soy wax?

I really don't know if this is a viable option. I haven't really canned. Just make a few homemade refrigerator pickles and freezer jam. I would be interested to hear what the MDC canning experts think, though.

[snowbunny]

Originally Posted by krankedyann

I wouldn't risk this. A bad seal can make you very sick and unless you make it just right, it won't seal and you're wasting your time and money.

I would assume the BPA risk for home-canned is minimal because the stuff isn't soaking in it like it is in commerically processed food. I just throw away whatever is clinging to the top of the lid when I pop open a jar.

I couldn't agree more.

[lingon]

Thanks for the replies!

I understand about the non-sealing risk, but these are high-acid tomatoes, so botulism won't happen, and I should be able to tell if it has sealed or not by whether the lid is sucked down. But I could imagine nothing sealing and it getting really annoying.

I saw the ewg's study on bpa in canned foods, but have there been any studies on bpa in food in glass jars? Such as spaghetti sauce and homemade mason-jar canning? I'd love some numbers.

[elanorh]

They recommend treating tomatoes as a low-acid food, because there have been botulism cases from home-canned tomatoes done in water baths. Either they need to be acidified and processed for quite some time in a water bath, or else processed in a pressure canner.

I wouldn't try putting paraffin wax in - at the temperatures you'd be processing them at, I'd imagine you'd have wax mixed in with your tomatoes. Blech.

If you are truly uncomfortable with the BPA in your canning lids, you could either blanch and freeze the tomatoes, or you could consider using Weck jars. Personally I'm not sure whether I'd want to use a Weck jar with vegetables and pressure canners .... I think for Wecks the concern would be a fail rate for the seal, and I wouldn't want to mess with that with a low-acid food. But maybe if you contact the company and ask them? I contacted our local Extension office about Weck jars, and they said that the USDA hasn't evaluated their safety for home canning (yet).

I figure there's less BPA in my home-canned foods than in storebought ones. And with headroom, I seldom have food touching the top of the lid anyway - maybe during processing but after that, it's over. I don't believe anyone has done research on the BPA in homecanned foods - among the factors they'd need to consider, is processing time/method - does pressure canning cause more BPA contact/contamination? Long periods in the water bath? etc. But since the FDA is still claiming that there is nothing wrong with BPA, there's not a lot of impetus to make changes. I contacted Ball/Kerr last fall and told them I would like them to stop using BPA in their lids. I don't know how much pressure we the canners can put on them, but since most of us can at least in part to reduce contamination and really control what goes into our foods, one would think that most home canners would be concerned!

I'm considering switching to Weck jars for my jams/jellies at least ....

[velochic]

I've been canning for ages. If you decide to DIY on the lids... your risk of death caused by homemade lids (including, but not limited to botulism) is FAR, FAR, FAR greater than any concerns you should have about BPA. Listen the pp's.

[KatWrangler]

Originally Posted by velochic

I've been canning for ages. If you decide to DIY on the lids... your risk of death caused by homemade lids (including, but not limited to botulism) is FAR, FAR, FAR greater than any concerns you should have about BPA. Listen the pp's.

This. No way would I risk my family or myself.

[Jennifer3141]

You know, the Ball lid company really ticks me off. They HAVE to know that lots and lots of us can because we care about the food we eat and no, I really don't want lids treated with BPA. Jeez, I go to all the trouble of cleaning up my soil, buy heirloom seeds, grow organically, and then CAN a ton of food and the stupid $#@!%$# company makes lids with BPA.

They were more expensive and the failure rate was higher but I'm going to go back to Weck jars. I can't imagine trying to convert all my jars over in one year but to heck with Ball.

And you got me fired up enough to email the Ball company. Maybe if they know we're watching, they'll care.

[mnnice]

has anybody tried the Trattler lids?

www.tattlerreuseablecanningjarlids.com


I web site really didn't say what sort of plastic they were made of and I wonder about leaching.

I was thinking about trying them because DH like to save and reuse lids to store leftovers in the fridge and accidently reused a lid on a canning project this summer. I also think they would be good for more acidy foods after you open the jar.

If they work they would also be a good value. In my estimation you would only have to use them 5 or 6 times to have them be cheaper than the regular Ball lids.

[KristyDi]

Originally Posted by mnnice

has anybody tried the Trattler lids?

www.trattlerreuseablecanningjarlids.com


I web site really didn't say what sort of plastic they were made of and I wonder about leaching.

I was thinking about trying them because DH like to save and reuse lids to store leftovers in the fridge and accidently reused a lid on a canning project this summer. I also think they would be good for more acidy foods after you open the jar.

If they work they would also be a good value. In my estimation you would only have to use them 5 or 6 times to have them be cheaper than the regular Ball lids.

I like to re-use lids too. In order to avoid confusion when I re-use I lid I've canned with I put a big X on it w/ a sharpie. That way I know not to can with it.

OP I agree w/ pp, the risk of deadly or seriously harmful contamination from an improper seal due to homemade lids is much greater than the risk presented by the small amount of BPA from proper canning lids.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by KristyDi

I like to re-use lids too. In order to avoid confusion when I re-use I lid I've canned with I put a big X on it w/ a sharpie. That way I know not to can with it.

OP I agree w/ pp, the risk of deadly or seriously harmful contamination from an improper seal due to homemade lids is much greater than the risk presented by the small amount of BPA from proper canning lids.

I always write the year on everything I can (and what DH makes too). That's how I knew he had "recycled" something in the first place. I still can't believe that he somehow missed a big old 2008 written on the jar (can you tell this ticks me off months later ) With the Trattler lids it would be non issue if they indeed worked well.

[lingon]

The reusable tattler lids are a plastic domed piece with a separate rubber ring, and then you use the normal Ball screw on metal band. The website is www.tattlerreusablecanningjarlids.com
(I think a pp had a typo)
Does anyone know what type of plastic and rubber, and whether the leaching of chemicals from this would be better/worse health-wise than the Ball BPA problem?

They claim to last more than 20 years if used carefully.

[krankedyann]

I wrote them days ago and heard back from them within minutes. The lids are BPA-free.

[Koalamom]

The link doesn't work

[lingon]

The tattler link worked for me just now (not the trattler link, that's a typo)
But if it doesn't, google tattler reusable canning jar lids and the site should come up third in the list or so.

I know they're BPA free, but there's plenty of other chemicals that leach from plastics, right?

[lingon]

This is what they told me just now:

"The plastic compound chosen for this product was a specific food grade material on the FDA White List of acceptable products for food contact. It is not HDPE and does not contain BPA. The rubber rings are made of the same material used for years with the old zinc lids, also an acceptable food grade compound. This product has been on the market and used for many years and has never experienced any problem. As great a concern with the metal lids is that in a relatively short shelf life, acid foods such as pickles, tomatoes etc., will attack and corrode the lid and render the canned goods unfit for consumption.
Thank you for your inquiry and your interest in our product."

So, that doesn't really answer my question about what type of plastic, just that it's food grade. But the FDA approval doesn't really quiet my worry about the safety of whatever plastic it is. BPA isn't the only chemical to leach out of plastic.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by Jennifer3141

You know, the Ball lid company really ticks me off. They HAVE to know that lots and lots of us can because we care about the food we eat and no, I really don't want lids treated with BPA. Jeez, I go to all the trouble of cleaning up my soil, buy heirloom seeds, grow organically, and then CAN a ton of food and the stupid $#@!%$# company makes lids with BPA.

They were more expensive and the failure rate was higher but I'm going to go back to Weck jars. I can't imagine trying to convert all my jars over in one year but to heck with Ball.

And you got me fired up enough to email the Ball company. Maybe if they know we're watching, they'll care.

I sent Ball an e-mail last year and got some canned annoying response.
I just noticed your location. Tattler is a local company to you. Would you like to try them out since you wouldn't have to pay for shipping?

[lingon]

I emailed Ball about 2 months ago, and didn't even get a response. Doesn't make much sense, unless the non-BPA technology doesn't exist, since they could sell non-bpa versions for a much higher price and people (I expect) would be willing to buy it.

Anyway, Tattler is about 4 hours away from me, so I won't be visiting them. I might just order some to try out, but I'm still hoping they'll tell me what the plastic is.