Toxic Chemical BPA Leaching into Canned Foods and Food in #7 Plastics - Page 2

[beanma]

oh, yeah, just to rain on the whole effing parade, i have read that the jar lids on glass jars have bad stuff on them, too. in fact in europe they have a regulation about this sort of thing that we don't have here. i can't remember which chemical if it's Bis...A or something else. a mom i know vowed not to feed her baby commercial baby food because of the US's lax regulations about it. (my kids just didn't like mushy baby food and preferred to finger feed.)

[Kleine Hexe]

What about the cardboard containers? Like the ones that non-refridgerated milk and broth come in?

[beanma]

they're probably all bad, too, huh? asceptic containers...

[artemis33]

Thank you so much for this. I appreciate everyone trying to decipher all of this and figure out which brands are using the BPA.

I contacted Trader Joe's today by phone and they said the do NOT use BPA (I use their marinara sauce and sometimes their organic beans) .

I also noticed the bionaturae glass tomato paste and other tomatoes when I was shopping this afternoon. Tomato products especially are something I am interested in finding in glass. If anyone knows of a brand of diced tomatoes in glass please post! Hopefully I'll have a huge tomato crop this summer and just can my own.

Many people I know think I am a little nuts or obsessive to worry about this, but SOMEONE has to, right? It is crazy and disgusting that we have to work so hard to determine if our food is safe - or unsafe! Argh!!!:

[anniegirl]

Thanks so much for posting this! I had no idea.

I also gotta say, holy crap! My kids each have one of those #7 water bottles, ack! At least most of my canned stuff is from TJs.

Is ceramic okay? What kind of cups/glasses do your kids drink out of (I mean besides the siggs/kks)? I occasionally give ds1 a ceramic mug to drink out of, but ds2 would happily bang a mug to bits. Is there an unbreakable alternative? Maybe those camping cups? Are those aluminum or stainless steel?

[3cuties]

I am just sick about this. : : : : :

With my 2nd two children I returned to work at 3.5 months so they drank my pumped milk from an Avent botte.

Anyone know of any studies or discussions regarding the Ameda storage bottles for the breast pump? They are made in Europe I believe. My bottles are not marked with a number.

[Synchro246]

Originally Posted by 3cuties

I am just sick about this. : : : : :

With my 2nd two children I returned to work at 3.5 months so they drank my pumped milk from an Avent botte.

Anyone know of any studies or discussions regarding the Ameda storage bottles for the breast pump? They are made in Europe I believe. My bottles are not marked with a number.

You can usually tell polycarbonate by flicking it with your fingernail. It would have a tingy sound. If you drop it on a hard surface it will bounce and have a distinct sound. It's not a very flexible plastic. If the plastic seems sorta "soft" it's probably not polycarb.
I know that's not very scientific, but that's how I've figured out a number of my bottles.

[Kleine Hexe]

I received a nicer response from Amy's. Here's a summary:

"While the FDA, the Japan Ministry of Health, the United Kingdom Food
Standards Agency and the Gradient Corporation Risk Assessment Panel have
all deemed the levels of BPA in canned goods to be safe, we recognize
that BPA is a controversial issue that needs to be monitored in the
future. We are also encouraging our can suppliers to work on methods to
reduce BPA migration into the food, as well as support their research
into alternative materials that do not allow bacterial or metallic
contamination of the food. While alternative coatings are being
developed and tested at this time, we expect it to take several years
before a new coating might be available that provides the level of
protection required in canned soups."

They also sent me links to studies which I have not looked at. Here they are:

http://www.gradientcorp.com/coinfo/pdf/RiskBull1.pdf

http://unit.aist.go.jp/crm/mainmenu/...ry_English.pdf

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Pla...FoodsAug02.htm.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/scie...001/bisphenols


Oh, my question is this....Amy's states that they are researching alternatives. Why is it that other companies seem to not have to use BPA in their canned products yet Amy's and Muir Glen state that they have to right now?

[RaRa7]

Originally Posted by anniegirl

Maybe those camping cups? Are those aluminum or stainless steel?

is enamelware what you;re thinking of?
I use that for the dc's bowls.....wonder if it's ok?
I just don't want to put warm food into plastic and they're not ready for our plates yet--anyone know about enamelware?

[wallacesmum]

I just emailed Westbrook Farms to find out about their cans, but I suspect we know the answer. Has anyone talked to them? They are the cheapest in my bulk catalog!

[hubris]

Originally Posted by beanma

oh, yeah, just to rain on the whole effing parade, i have read that the jar lids on glass jars have bad stuff on them, too.

In the other thread, I asked:

Originally Posted by hubris

For jarred foods, don't the caps have some sort of plastic film underneath them? What is THAT made out of?

Anybody have info on the liners under jar lids?

[wallacesmum]

BTW - I am pretty sure melamine is not heat safe at all, and off-gasses like mad.

[Synchro246]

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

I received a nicer response from Amy's. Here's a summary:

"While the FDA, the Japan Ministry of Health, the United Kingdom Food
Standards Agency and the Gradient Corporation Risk Assessment Panel have
all deemed the levels of BPA in canned goods to be safe, we recognize
that BPA is a controversial issue that needs to be monitored in the
future. We are also encouraging our can suppliers to work on methods to
reduce BPA migration into the food, as well as support their research
into alternative materials that do not allow bacterial or metallic
contamination of the food. While alternative coatings are being
developed and tested at this time, we expect it to take several years
before a new coating might be available that provides the level of
protection required in canned soups."

They also sent me links to studies which I have not looked at. Here they are:

http://www.gradientcorp.com/coinfo/pdf/RiskBull1.pdf

http://unit.aist.go.jp/crm/mainmenu/...ry_English.pdf

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Pla...FoodsAug02.htm.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/scie...001/bisphenols


Oh, my question is this....Amy's states that they are researching alternatives. Why is it that other companies seem to not have to use BPA in their canned products yet Amy's and Muir Glen state that they have to right now?

That is a MUCH better response. I'm going to look at those links.
That question gets me too. I'm thinking the key word in your question is SEEM.

[beanma]

Originally Posted by snozzberry

Eden: Depends
Company says they DO use BPA in tomato cans. However, organic bean cans do NOT contain BPA.

this leads me to think it's the acidic content of the foods that causes the leaching from the metals and that's why canned tomatoes almost always have a lining in the can. i think the other products like soups which use tomatoes or other acidic foods would be more liable to have some kind of liner, too, but maybe the beans aren't very acidic?

[FluffiB]

Originally Posted by Synchro246

You can usually tell polycarbonate by flicking it with your fingernail. It would have a tingy sound. If you drop it on a hard surface it will bounce and have a distinct sound. It's not a very flexible plastic. If the plastic seems sorta "soft" it's probably not polycarb.
I know that's not very scientific, but that's how I've figured out a number of my bottles.

I'm not sure how to tell either, but I noticed that a chocolate pudding cup that I was eating yesterday was #7 plastic. It was opaque and felt more soft, I thought.

[FluffiB]

Plastic gasoline cans are #7 too...

I'm going nuts finding all these plastics around my house!! It drives me nuts even more when they don't say what number they are. What about plastic spoons & forks (not disposable ones)? Cups, tupperware, plastic bags, zip locks, lotion bottles, cosmetics, ..... I'm going insane! :

[mama_daba]

Originally Posted by arismommy

is enamelware what you;re thinking of?
I use that for the dc's bowls.....wonder if it's ok?
I just don't want to put warm food into plastic and they're not ready for our plates yet--anyone know about enamelware?

we eat a lot of stuff off wooden plates and bowls, they seem to be pretty safe and are also very pretty

[2bluefish]

I don't reccomend melamine for children's dishes regardless of the plastics issue - they break when thrown from a high chair at high speed!

[Synchro246]

Originally Posted by FluffiB

I'm not sure how to tell either, but I noticed that a chocolate pudding cup that I was eating yesterday was #7 plastic. It was opaque and felt more soft, I thought.

Originally Posted by FluffiB

Plastic gasoline cans are #7 too...

I'm going nuts finding all these plastics around my house!! It drives me nuts even more when they don't say what number they are. What about plastic spoons & forks (not disposable ones)? Cups, tupperware, plastic bags, zip locks, lotion bottles, cosmetics, ..... I'm going insane! :

Number 7 plastic is the catch all category of "other" that contains, but is not limited to Polycarbonate.
Not all #7 plastics are polycarbonate.

Tupperwear is generally #5, ziploc bags are generally #4 Neither of these have any known hazards, but again--should not be heated
Here is a link that breaks it down a bit: http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/473

[artemis33]

Forgot to mention that when I talked to TJ's they said what they do use is a food grade enamel. So, now I am wondering....if that is safe enough then why aren't the other companies using that? I was driving when they called me back so I didn't ask any follow up questions

I have used a couple of cans of their marinara since this came up and have been checking everything for the white plastic looking liners. So far on my few cans the only ones I *know* have it are my cat food (and it is an expensive specialty brand - called Wellness. My cats are too old for dry food and they do well on this food )

I am wondering if the BPA liners always LOOK like plastic - you know, the white insides - or is it sometimes a clear coating you wouldn't be able to see? Anyone know?