Are Toxic BPA Soup Cans Harming Your Family?
A new report from the Breast Cancer Fund reveals 12 canned soups and pastas found to contain BPA – an estrogen-like chemical raising concern among experts for its potential health effects in children, infants and fetuses.
“The findings outline the urgent need to remove BPA from food packaging – a major source of exposure to this toxic hormone disruptor – especially in foods marketed to children,” the report states.
BPA made headlines in 2008 when it was shown to leach out of plastic when heated. BPA is a key ingredient in hard plastics and resins used to coat metal cans.
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In Canada, the chemical is banned from baby bottles. The U.S. government has not followed suit but several local governments have. One leading U.S. baby bottle manufacturer went BPA-free voluntarily. However, the chemical continues to live in cans.
Laboratory studies in cells and animals have linked the chemical to cancer, infertility, diabetes and obesity. According to the World Health Organization, the health effects of exposure in humans remain unclear.
In the meantime, the Food and Drug Administration is “facilitating the development of alternatives to BPA”, according to its website.
The Breast Cancer Fund has launched a campaign called “Cans Not Cancer” that urges manufacturers to substitute BPA with something safer.
Campbell Soup Company spokesman Anthony Sanzio said substitution of BPA is a very difficult process to achieve for a mass can retailer.
“Statements such as “cans not cancer” imply that there are alternatives, and companies can't just flip a switch, it’s just not accurate, said Sanzio. “At this point the industry has not identified a reliable alternative to BPA for large scale production.”
In 2009 the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences allotted $30 million in funding to study the health effects of BPA -- a splurge expected to yield results next fall.
Sanzio said, "The overwhelming weight of scientific evidence shows that the use of BPA in can lining poses no threat to human health.”
"That being said, we understand that consumers may have concerns about it. We're very aware of the debate and we're watching it intently."
Connecticut and Minnesota have enacted their own laws banning sippy cups, baby bottles, and other reusable food and drink containers despite the fact the FDA has opted to wait for more evidence before taking action on BPA. Pennsylvania might be the next state to support a ban.
Rebecca Roberts, a scientist and mother of three is testifying at a public hearing today on BPA in baby products.
"BPA needs to be regulated so that those products are no longer used in this country," said Roberts, an assistant professor of biology at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. "There are alternatives; we just need to do it."
