More BPA Concerns

The Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program released a report today saying they have "some concern" that BPA is linked to health and developmental problems. While they don't recommend banning BPA, they do say that more research needs to be done.

Everyone has heard about BPA being present in baby bottles and reusable drinking bottles. but did you know BPA is in dental sealants? BPA is also found in canned food containers. I did a little research on my own. Did you know almost all canned goods have some amount of BPA in the can? Here's what I found at the Environmental Working Group.

This nifty little chart shows canned food items that have the highest levels of BPA in them. The red percentages show the highest toxicity levels.


EWG says "BPA is at unsafe levels in one of every 10 servings of canned foods (11%) and one of every 3 cans of infant formula (33%) ."

Yikes. We eat very little canned goods, but we do eat a fair amount of beans.

So how can you avoid BPA to be on the safe side? The Environmental Working Group has some good suggestions:


1) Avoid plastics labeled #7

2) Avoid canned liquid baby formula; instead choose powdered or liquid packaged in plastic. Canned pastas also rank high in BPA.

3) Choose a stainless steel water container that does not have any liner.

4) EWG recommends consumers avoid heating food in plastics in the microwave. Glass and ceramics are better choices.

While, some of the information we're hearing may seem a little scary, I see the report as giving us a chance to examine what we use that may not be healthy and find better alternatives.