Link to birth defects

Environmental Working Group finds toxic food-can lining

Summary. Independent laboratory tests found a toxic food-can lining ingredient associated with birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems in over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods. The study was spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and targeted the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), a plastic and resin ingredient used to line metal food and drink cans. There are no government safety standards limiting the amount of BPA in canned food.

EWG's tests found:

• Of all foods tested, chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. Just one to three servings of foods with these concentrations could expose a woman or child to BPA at levels that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests.
• For 1 in 10 cans of all food tested, and 1 in 3 cans of infant formula, a single serving contained enough BPA to expose a woman or infant to BPA levels more than 200 times the government's traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals. The government typically mandates a 1,000- to 3,000-fold margin of safety between human exposures and levels found to harm lab animals, but these servings contained levels of BPA less than 5 times lower than doses that harmed lab animals. 
  

Consumer tips to avoid BPA exposure

Although completely eliminating exposure to BPA may not be possible, there are steps you can take to reduce your family's exposure to this chemical.

• Eat more fresh foods and fewer from cans
• Feed children a varied diet and consider replacing canned concentrated formula for infants
• Never microwave plastics, especially food for kids
• Avoid #7 plastics where possible. Throw out old, scratched plastic bottles or food containers.
• Some metal water containers have a plastic lining with BPA. Do not use for hot liquids (washing is fine).