Food Fights: The Biggest Culinary Scandals Of 2011
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Photo: istorija, Flickr
First it was baby products, then reusable drinking bottles. Now a new report released last week by the National Workgroup for Safe Markets, a coalition of more than 17 public and environmental health groups, shows that bisphenol-A is present in most food preserved in cans (not just in the lining of the cans themselves, where it is used to protect food from corrosion and bacteria). BPA, as the chemical is also called, has been linked to a range of ills including cancer, infertility, and obesity.
For the new study (charmingly titled "No Silver Lining"), researchers analyzed 50 cans of food from 19 U.S. states and Ontario, Canada. BPA was found in a whopping 92 percent of the collected samples, with the top level being the highest yet reported in the U.S. -- 1,140 parts per billion. (In case you're keeping track, it was a can of Del Monte French Style Green Beans, and it came from Wisconsin.)
In the past, some have argued that while BPA is certainly present in a variety of plastics, the amount that actually leaches into our food is negligible. Not so here. Mike Schade, a co-author of the study, told AOL News that "real-life meals involving one or more cans of food can cause an individual to ingest levels of BPA that have been shown to cause health effects in laboratory animal studies."
The report further warns that the BPA was found across the board, regardless of brand, nutritional quality, or the price point of the foods. Whether it was the fancy gourmet stuff or the store label, BPA was in the can and therefore also in the food. Walmart's Great Value Green Peas from a store in Kentucky, and Healthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup from a pantry in Montana, also scored high according to researchers.
As one might expect, politicians have started crying foul. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D. California, had already called for a ban on BPA in food and beverage containers. "Nearly 200 scientific studies show that exposures to low doses of BPA, particularly during pregnancy and early infancy, are associated with a wide range of adverse health effects later in life," she wrote in a column for the Huffington Post. This report will certainly add weight to her argument.
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5-24-2010 @1:18PM Jason said... SIGG bottles are not stainless. They are aluminum with a coated interior and it was this coating that has BPA in it. Other bottles like the Klean Kanteen are stainless. SIGG bottles are also much more likely to have the taste of one drink transferred to the next.
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5-25-2010 @11:37AM Al Schrader said... This fix is easy: use something else that is safe...Al-
5-25-2010 @1:28PM robert said... There was nothing wrong with glass. Large companies wishing to cut breakage and trucking costs pushed plastic containers on us. I wonder if the medical costs that we experience because of this are worth it
5-24-2010 @3:27PM See said... I concur with Jason. You must have meant "reusable Aluminum". Please correct your first line so as not to be responsible for spreading bad information.
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5-24-2010 @4:26PM Courtney said... I'm curious if Eden foods was included in the study. They don't use BPA in the can linings.
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5-25-2010 @6:49AM Kim said... This is exactly why I can my own produce. I know that ppl in the cities have a harder time growing a garden due to the lack of space, but I'm lucky enough to live in the country and grow a garden. Therefore being able to "control" what my family eats. The worst thing about the BPA being present in the can goods in the grocery stores is that ppl on a fixed income or lower income families depend on can goods because they are so much cheaper. Large companies don't give a "rats tail" about what is in their product as long as they are turning a profit. It's time they take responsibilty for thier actions and stop poisoning the american ppl!
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5-25-2010 @9:20AM Lauryn said... Kim - the better, and cheaper, alternative to canned beans is buying dried beans and soaking them yourself. Even for low income families who work long hours, this is a much better choice because it's cheaper, you avoid the BPA, and they can leave the beans soaking when they are not at home. The "long" method is to put the beans in a pot of cold water, soak for 8 hours, and then drain, rinse, and bring to a simmer in fresh water for 1.5 hours. There is then the choice to make beans like this in advance, for the next day (they can be stored, soaked, for up to a week in the fridge), and to prepare dinner with "yesterday's" soaked beans while the new beans for "tomorrow" are simmering; or if there are things to be done before preparing dinner (homework, cleaning), the beans can soak while you are doing those.
There is also the "fast" method of soaking beans, involving bringing them to a boil, turning the heat off and covering for two hours, and then draining, rinsing, and bringing to a simmer in fresh water for the 1.5 hours. However, the 8-hour "cold soak" is more feasible when working out of the house for the day.
5-25-2010 @9:58AM Babz said... Hate to tell you, but those canning jar lids have BPA on the underside.
5-25-2010 @10:36AM G said... Did you take into account the amount of electricity being used to cook the beans everyday for 1.5hrs? Low income people are struggling to pay the electric bill every month. You can see why it's a choice between 1.5hrs of electricity every day to cook beans or open a can and microwave it for 1 1/2 mins.
Does the FDA approve of the BPA in the cans, etc.? They are trying to get people to stop using herbal alternatives (ie: fish oil) by concocting a new prescription drug of 'pure' fish oil that has side effects! Here take another pill...America!
5-25-2010 @10:48AM G said... I meant open a can, put it in a microwave dish and then microwave it.
5-26-2010 @4:26PM Lauryn said... As I mentioned, dried beans are cheaper than canned, often significantly so, and this price difference more than covers the electricity used for the 1.5 hours on medium heat (which, in cool or cold weather, also helps to warm up the house, so a little less heat should be used).
5-25-2010 @7:08AM steve-o said... put it in glass jars like grandma used to do
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5-25-2010 @7:12AM Tori said... haha nicee
5-25-2010 @7:10AM Tell it like it is said... We didn't have these problems when grandma used mason jars.
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5-25-2010 @7:24AM Barbara Johnson said... Why do we not have a list of those canned products which DO NOT contain BPA. That would have been a helpful article. This article does nothing but scare everyone into not wanting to buy anything canned in the future. So it is not a helpful article at all. Why could you not mention those that are safe to eat? That would have made the article worth reading. I feel cheated as if whoever pays your salary doesn't want the products mentioned for some monetary reason or other. How can I find out what these products were so I know what I can and cannot buy in the future?
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5-25-2010 @8:11AM TOM H said... I agree with you that it is SCARE TACTICS and if people had any SENSE they should be SCARED.
5-25-2010 @8:33AM S. Lumpkin said... I'm with you Barbara , 100%.
5-25-2010 @7:36AM jane said... BPA is linked to obesity? Give me a break. Now obese people can blame the can their food comes in for their obesity instead of blaming themselves for overeating the food in the cans.
Come on. Cancer and other health issues I can understand, but obesity?
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5-25-2010 @9:07AM B said... Jane why don't you think about the timing of when obesity became an enormous issue in our country and the introduction of plastics, hormones in the food.
I am certainly not saying this is always the problem, but to dismiss it out of hand as you did is simply arrogant.
5-25-2010 @12:11PM dixie said... The timing you are refering to also coinsides with when people stopped walking and started setting for hours watching tv and playing video games. That surely has more to do with the obesity problem in this country than what the cans are made of