Trader Joe's misleading re. BPA

[thinkergrrl]

Hello All,

I am new to the boards, but used this forum specifically as a reference when researching BPA. At that time, Trader Joe's was responding to customer inquiries saying that none of its cans contained BPA. More recently, they changed their story and began saying that most, but not all, of their cans do in fact contain BPA and always have. In the interim I--like many others--was buying organic diced canned tomatoes from them by the CASE thinking they were safer during my pregnancies and with my small kids.

I submitted another inquiry through their web form the other day asking when they changed their public stance re. BPA and here is what I received today:

Hi,

We have never had a public stance on the use of BPA in our canned Trader
Joe's products. BPA (Bisphenol A) is an epoxy used in manufacturing the
plastic (resin enamel) lining of canned goods. This resin lining in cans
prevents spoilage.

This is an industry-wide issue for manufacturers of food-grade cans and
canned foods. Work is being done within the industry to develop
alternative, BPA-free linings for canned products. The canned food
industry has relied on this method for many years and is scrambling to
come up with solutions that do not trade one perceived problem for a
degradation in food safety.

To be clear, we do have canned items with linings that contain BPA and
in this way we are in the same position as all other retail grocers.
Canned items in our stores WITH BPA lining in the cans: tomatoes, tomato
sauce & paste, soups, chili, and stew. Canned items in our stores that
DO NOT have BPA lining in the cans: beans, corn, seafood (tuna, salmon,
herring, sardines, etc.), chicken, turkey & beef.

We have never denied using this material in our TJ'S labeled canned
products.

Thank you,

Nicki K.
Trader Joe's
Customer Relations

This appears to be a flat-out lie. Has anybody saved their old emails from TJs? I think this deserves broader media coverage. I know there are still people buying TJ's canned goods because they think they are BPA free.

Thanks, everybody.

BTW, here is an original thread with some very specific evidence regarding these apparent lies--I just don't know how to find these people:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...php?p=11274528

[Luteguy]

Trader Joe's and BPA

I'm not sure Trader Joe's intended deception - it's probably more "confusion," and as time goes by and they've received inquiries, they appear to be sorting out the facts on BPA in their cans.

I contacted them this week and got the following reply - which seems pretty clear to me. If you search for this subject, you get a lot of results from a few years ago, but things change over the years:

fromWeb Customer Relations <[e-mail]>
dateWed, Feb 10, 2010 at 9:55 AM
subjectRE: Trader Joe's Product Information Form
mailed-bytraderjoes.com

Dear Mr. Bard,

Thank you for contacting us. Canned items in our stores WITH BPA lining in the cans would include: tomatoes, tomato sauce & paste, soups, chili, and stew.

Canned items in our stores that DO NOT have BPA lining in the cans include: seafood (tuna, salmon, herring, sardines, etc.), chicken, turkey & beef and now beans and corn. All of our products and packaging are within food safety guidelines and regulations. However, we also wanted to inform you that we do not have any plastic packaging with BPA.

Regards,
Nikki
Customer Relations

[mama1803]

Originally Posted by thinkergrrl

do not trade one perceived problem for a
degradation in food safety.




http://www.mothering.com/discussions...php?p=11274528

I've never contacted TJs regarding this concern. However, I do find the customer relations response to be a bit bothersome. From the above mentioned quote do you think TJs even considers the use of BPA to even be a legitimate concern? Maybe I'm being nit-picky, but by using the wording "perceived problem" it sounds like TJ doesn't see anything wrong with BPA. It may be the industry standard, but that doesn't mean it is safe and it certainly doesn't mean that people are wrong in attempting to avoid products with BPA. IMO, the response is a bit condescending.

[Luteguy]

Taking BPA seriously

I think Trader Joe's probably takes it seriously enough within reason. You have to remember that they are in business to make money. If a good percentage of TJs customers buy from them because of their policies, it doesn't help their bottom line to ignore those customers' wishes.

But I also believe they are somewhat constricted because BPA is an industry-wide canning issue. Trader Joe's may not have the buying power to dictate that canning companies change back to the more-expensive oleoresinous liners. It appears they do have enough power that they are able to supply BPA-free cans for most products.

It wouldn't be good to sell cans with tomato-based products where the tomato juice eats through the resin and then through the can. The solution: buy tomato products in glass jars or can them yourself.

As for BPA in canning-jar lids...well, I have a hard time believing that BPA in the sealing lid really leaches significantly into the food if it's not in contact with the lid.

Being cautious about BPA is one thing; getting freaked out about every possible trace of it is probably another, although of course it's anyone's right!