Endocrine disruptor in a can

The new issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter just arrived, and one of the articles talks about bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor that’s found in polycarbonate, which is commonly used to make plastic cutlery, sippy cups, and baby bottles. For those who don’t know what exactly endocrine disruptors are (I didn’t), they’re substances that mimic hormones (estrogen, in BPA’s case), thereby messing with the endocrine system, which regulates reproductive and developmental processes.

Scientists are divided on which particular health ills can be attributed to BPA—some believe it’s associated with increased rates of breast and prostate cancer, early-onset puberty, type 2 diabetes, and ADHD; others simply worry that it may affect the maturing brain in unspecified ways—but I say, why wait to find out? The article quotes the National Institute of Environmental Health Science’s Chris Portier as saying that “there’s sufficient evidence now to give people who want to be prudent—especially parents—a reason to avoid BPA.”

I’d vaguely heard of BPA as something to avoid in plastic water bottles (I’ve consequently said good-bye to my old Nalgenes and bought some Klean Kanteens) and baby bottles (we’re using glass ones). And it’s pretty infuriating that the substance is used in products designed to go into the mouths of kids, whose developing bodies are the most vulnerable to endocrine disruptors.

But what I didn’t know is that BPA is also found in the epoxy resin that lines food and beverage cans. “Close to 100 percent of our exposure [to BPA] occurs this way,” NIEHS’s Michael Shelby is quoted as saying.

The story suggests avoiding canned beverages and buying foods that are packaged in cartons or pouches rather than cans.

Mr. Wallet Mouth and I aren’t big on soda or any other canned beverages, but our cupboard does contain a good supply of canned foods, mostly beans, stewed tomatoes, and the odd veggie chili. So I was glad to read that there is one company, Eden Foods, using cans without the epoxy resin. According to Eden’s website, its custom-made cans have baked-on oleoresinous c-enamel lining, oleoresin being “a natural mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir.”

Having been recently turned on to who owns whom in the organic food sector, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Eden is an independent company, family owned and operated since 1968.

Cool, I thought to myself. I’ll start buying all my canned food from Eden. The only downside, I discovered, is that Eden offers only one product in a can: organic beans.

Clearly it’s time for other food producers to get on the oleoresinous c-enamel bandwagon, because I have a feeling that as more and more consumers get educated about BPA, this issue is going to amount to far more than a hill of beans.

Comments

[Susan Cartier Liebel]

Just for the record I think Kirkland brands Tuna and Salmon have the can interior you are talking about....but you might want to check for sure as their can insides are white enamel and very clean.

[rajbot]

How can you ensure that the baby bottle nipples don't contain BPA (or anything else that babies shouldn't be sucking on)?

[rajbot]

Hmm. I found this: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/84/i24/8424regulation.html

On June 6, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors unanimously approved legislation that would ban the manufacture, sale, and distribution within the metropolitan area of child care articles and toys containing bisphenol A and some phthalates for children under three years old. Under the ordinance, San Francisco manufacturers of baby bottles, pacifiers, and toys for young children must replace bisphenol A and the phthalates with the least toxic alternatives. The ban goes into effect on Dec. 1.

[Bronwyn]

Susan: I hope that's true about Kirkland. Where did you hear about that? I did a quick search on Costco's website but couldn't find anything...

Hi Raj: I guess the best way to find safe baby-bottle nipples is to look for ones that are silicone and/or labeled BPA-free, which a lot of them are now that BPA awareness is spreading. Above all, don't accept baby-bottle nipples from strange people you run into in a bar.