Thursday November 5, 2009, 4:54 pm
Before the report, many felt the BPA danger had passed with the introduction of BPA-free baby bottles and so-called microwave-safe plastics. Not so, says the report: Certain canned foods contain high levels of BPA -- but it may also be present in alternative packaging.

"BPA is the building block of the polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins used in many food and beverage containers," Janet Nudelman, policy director at the Breast Cancer Fund, told TechNewsWorld.

"It was developed in the 1930s as a synthetic estrogen, so it's not surprising that it acts like an estrogen in humans, increasing the risk of breast cancer and other hormonally sensitive diseases," she explained.

"Recent science has shown that with hormone-disrupting chemicals like BPA, even low doses can have devastating effects," said Nudelman.


Choose Your Poison
Consumer Reports tested canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna and green beans, and found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods tested contained measurable levels of BPA. Most disturbing: BPA was found in a diverse assortment of canned foods, including some labeled "organic" and some packaged in "BPA-free" cans.

Consumer Reports' tests of a few comparable products in alternative types of packaging showed lower levels of BPA in most, but not all, cases. The results are reported in the December 2009 issue of the magazine and are available online for free.

Not all experts agree with Consumer Reports' findings, however.

"The recent Consumer Reports article reports the presence of BPA in many of the 19 name-brand foods analyzed," said Carl K. Winter, Ph.D., director of the FoodSafe program and extension food toxicologist with the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis.

"The mere presence of BPA in the foods is not sufficient to establish human risk levels," Winter told TechNewsWorld.

"The first principle of toxicology is 'the dose makes the poison.' It's the AMOUNT of a potentially hazardous chemical, not its presence or absence, that determines the potential for harm," he maintained.

"What is missing in the article is an appropriate risk assessment that accurately calculates potential human exposure to BPA and relates it to the most widely accepted health criteria for the chemical," said Winter, who receives no funding from the chemical or food industries for his research or outreach programs.

"Conclusions regarding the safety of BPA in foods, in the absence of a true risk assessment, should be considered as 'opinions' rather than scientifically defensible facts," he concluded..... more

Friday November 6, 2009, 5:56 am
Thanks Cowboss. BPA is also used in toothpaste tubes. It seems BPA is everywhere and pretty hard to avoid. People should be vigilent and write to manufacturers (and as this article suggests, even for organic products) if they want to avoid this in their food and drink.

Saturday November 7, 2009, 4:17 pm
Thanks Cowboss!

Great article on site...UGH, what next...we are all being poisoned faster than people can handle. Going to print this out and Karen you are totally right on people do need to write manufacturers to make themselves heard.

My mother even though she is a Senior Citizen, watches everything on all canned foods like crazy and is always telling me I am eating something that is totally bad for me. She is so healthy and has never taken any prescriptions for anything, she grew up on a farm (small one), but she is so up on all of this stuff, she should be on Care2 on these articles instead of me!!!

Frankly, I read what I feed my dog, and neglect myself.

This is totally disturbing to me, thank you for getting this out there.

Btw...please send me your news next time so I don't have to play hide and seek -- love your news!!!

You always get the news out there about what is going on and I totally value it, it is so important that people know about these things and become aware!

Still, YIPES, what can we eat???? Grow my own grass and graze???