Bisphenol A (BPA) has gotten a lot of press recently, from infant formula to Sigg bottles, it’s everywhere.  But did you know that it’s also in your canned foods, especially canned tomato products, pasta sauces, and vegetables?

BPA is a compound used to manufacture plastics and has been in mainstream use for over 50 years.  But for all of its benefits, BPA has some significant drawbacks.  It can leach from plastics and plastic linings into the product that it holds, especially with acidic foods like tomatoes.  From the food products it then is absorbed into the human body, where it causes damage to the cardiovascular and reproductive systems, and can contribute to incidences of cancer, diabetes, asthma and obesity.

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The way the tests work today is we think that by testing at high doses we’re gonna see everything. So that once we get to a dose that’s intermediate and we don’t see anything, we’re golden.

But the science is telling us that at really low doses as contaminants mimic hormones. They can have effects that are totally unpredictable by what happens at high doses.

Pete Myers spoke to Living on Earth about the consequences of current testing.

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The Sigg Company recently admitted that its aluminum bottles, long touted as an alternative to chemical leaching plastics, actually contain bisphenol-A (BPA) in their liner. The announcement has left customers around the world outraged.  Especially damning is evidence that the company knew as far back as 2006 that the bottle liners contained BPA, yet failed to disclose this fact to consumers.

Though the scientific jury is still out on the effects of BPA, states such as Minnesota and Connecticut have already banned their use in kiddie drinking cups and other bottles.  Conscientious consumers have also been leery of BPA, and many have tried to do their best to avoid it.  Unfortunately for many people, the alternative to other BPA leeching plastic bottles were the aluminum Sigg bottles they thought were safe.

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Their “water-based epoxy liner”, long rumoured (but never confirmed) to contain BPA, indeed had BPA all along.

SIGG kept this cozy little secret by constantly releasing reassuring statements that their proprietary formula had been extensively tested and was never found to leach BPA.

The subtle truth hidden in their messages was that they never said there was no BPA in there to begin with.  But now, one entire year after changing their liner to a new “EcoCare”, BPA-free formula, they are now admitting what so many have suspected all along.

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Suzanne Condon, director of the state Bureau of Environmental Health, said this in the absence of any federal action on the chemical:

We are concerned about this enough that we want to warn the public. It just seemed it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to sit back and not do anything.

The FDA has yet to change their policy on the chemical in food contact materials. Instead, there has been enough demand from consumers that BPA has been removed from many brands of baby bottles and sippy cups. Also, some states and municipalities have banned BPA, so it’d be pretty tough for manufacturers to regionally offer products with different chemical compositions.

Here are the places where BPA has been banned:

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The study says that these bottles contain “trace amounts”, but some sources cite an internal memo, which says that two brands contain “high doses”.

For their part, bottle manufacturers claim that the study must have been performed wrong.

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That means I know that breastmilk is simply better than formula.

But now an author and feminist says that we should question the breastmilk/formula debate. Is breastmilk really better, or are the differences so minute that it doesn’t matter what you put in baby’s mouth?

Joan Wolf was interviewed by the Times in the UK, where she said,

The evidence to date suggests it probably doesn’t make much difference if you breastfeed.

She says that many studies contradict one another, and others which show no discernible difference in health benefits. There are numerous claims about breastfeeding, she says, which can’t be proven:

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Campaigners in Bundanoon (population 2,500) in New South Wales, were incensed after a beverage company proposed plans to tap an underground reservoir in the town, then bottle and sell the water.

Over 350 residents turned out to vote for the measure. Only 1 resident voted against the ban, along with a representative from the bottled water industry.

One campaigner, John Dee, told the BBC,

The company has been looking to extract water locally, bottle it in Sydney and bring it back here to sell it. It made people look at the environmental impact of bottled water and the community has been quite vocal about it.
We believe Bundanoon is the world’s first town that has got its retailers to ban bottled water. We haven’t found it anywhere else.

Now, all local businesses will stop selling plastic water bottles.

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Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in can linings and hard plastics. It’s been around for a while and is widely used. And chances are, you have it in your system as we speak. With such common usage of the chemical, what are people making such a fuss about?

As it turns out, the chemical has been linked to cancer, diabetes, developmental damage and heart disease in animals. It is also known for leaching from can and bottle linings into foods and drinks. With such widespread use, 90% of Americans tested by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had traces of BPA in their urine.

So we know that it is a harmful chemical. What does the FDA have to do with all of this? Well, the FDA has long claimed that its assessments show that the chemical is “safe.” This stance, along with recent events have investors applauding. Recently the FDA has decided to reassess BPA using independent, rather than industrial, science and data.

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The group is concerned over bisphenol-A and similar hormone-disrupting chemicals, found in plastics, pesticides, and other products. It said in a statement that bisphenol-A is a

’significant concern for public health’ and that it’s important for consumers to take a ‘precautionary approach’ to limit their exposure.

This follows on the heels of a few more studies regarding BPA. First–and most worrisome–is the recent study that showed that human exposure to BPA is likely much higher than previously thought and much higher than deemed “safe” by the FDA. That study’s author, Dr. Frederick vom Saal, who presented his study’s findings at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, said of the chemical:

BPA is now known to be a potent estrogen.

Human and animal studies indicate it could be related to diabetes, heart disease, liver abnormalities, miscarriage and other reproductive abnormalities, as well as prostate and breast cancer

Other recent studies should have us all cutting out the polycarbonate plastic.

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That’s why I was pleased to hear that Oprah brought up the matter on her Earth Day episode.

This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

Some highlights from the video:

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is reporting that a recently-published study by Health Canada found that the vast majority of canned soft drink and energy drinks contain bisphenol A, a known endocrine disruptor and estrogen mimic.

The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in January, tested 72 canned drinks purchased in 2007 and found detectable levels of BPA in 69 of them.  The levels are within the limits of what Health Canada considers “safe,” however, some critics believe that there is no safe level of this chemical, pointing out that studies in peer-reviewed science journals have shown that BPA can increase breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer cell growth in animal testing even at very low doses.

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In the first law of its kind in the States, the Suffolk County Legislature voted Tuesday to ban polycarbonate baby bottles. BPA would have to be removed from sippys and bottles intended for children under 3, or those products would have to be removed from store shelves.

Says bill sponsor Legis. Steve Stern,

There are plenty of viable, cost-effective and safe alternatives.

The county now says they’re evaluating the impact of the law pending an upcoming public hearing.

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It’s not good for you.

Nalgene stopped using it.

Canada banned it.

California considered banning it, but didn’t.

BPA has been detected in over 90% of Americans tested, and it is possibly linked to breast and prostate cancer. This synthetic hormone may harm the reproductive system of humans. The FDA has studied it and released a draft assessment declaring it safe.

A panel studying the FDA’s draft assessment will soon make a pivotal decision as to whether BPA can continue to be used in contact with food. The chair of the panel is Martin Philbert, who founded and directs the University of Michigan’s Risk Science Center.

The Risk Science Center recently received a $5,000,000 donation (25 times its annual budget) from Charles Gelman, a supporter of BPA, and critic of government regulation. Gelman is a retired industrialist with his own page on SourceWatch. He donates to organizations like the Cato Institute and the Mackinac Center for Policy Research.

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The ban on phthalates for one. The chemical and toxin labeling law (hence all those “May Cause Cancer in the State of California” labels you see all over cheap goods from China). And the higher fuel efficiency standards, which have considerably reduced smog. Then, they were poised to ban BPA (bisphenol A and PFOA (a chemical in food wrapping). No dice.

What happened? In a close vote, the California legisture voted not to ban BPA and PFOA.

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Asia

Two “Extinct” Species Discovered

First there was Swinshoe’s softshell turtle, and then the Javan Elephant. Is this more commonplace than we might believe?

Frankly, no. Despite the occasional hubbub over an animal science has lost track of– say, the Coelacanth– we’ve witnessed something extraordinary. Swinshoe’s turtle was previously believed to be extinct in the wild, with only three remaining in captivity, and therefore every one of these 300-pound turtles is a critical find.

Continue reading: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in media: Stumble Upon.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2008/04/21/10-top-environmental-headlines-of-the-week-no-4/feed/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2007/12/11/infants-exposed-to-bpa-in-their-formula/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2007/12/11/infants-exposed-to-bpa-in-their-formula/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:05:16 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://ecochildsplay.com/2007/12/11/infants-exposed-to-bpa-in-their-formula/

Obviously, breastfed babies are happiest and healthiest; however, sometimes families have to use infant formulas to nourish their young ones. A new report issued by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) makes recommendations for feeding babies safely and avoiding Bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is a hormone disruptor that can harm brain development and may affect behavior. Many families have switched to BPA-free bottles and sippy cups; however, infant formula containers pose a higher risk to children than baby bottles when it comes to BPA leaching.

Back in October, I wrote about the risk of BPA leaching into food and infant formula stored in tin/steel cans. Steel cans are lined with plastic containing BPA to prevent contamination from the can to the food/formula. EWG found that,

1 out of every 16 infants fed ready-to-eat liquid formula are exposed to BPA at doses exceeding those that caused increased aggression and significant changes in testosterone levels in laboratory animals.

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]]> http://ecochildsplay.com/2007/12/11/infants-exposed-to-bpa-in-their-formula/feed/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2007/10/08/canned-food-and-bpa/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2007/10/08/canned-food-and-bpa/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://ecochildsplay.com/2007/10/08/canned-food-and-bpa/
Many people are aware of the dangers of BPA, and this issue has been explored extensively in the parenting blogosphere regarding baby bottles and sippy cups. But did you know that tin/steel cans used for food and some aluminum beverage cans are lined with an epoxy resin that contains Bisphenol A (BPA)? This lining’s purpose is to prevent corrosion and contamination of the food, but what about BPA contamination of the food/beverage?

Should we be worried about BPA leaching into our food? According to bisphenol-a.org, the answer is no, “an average adult consumer would have to ingest more than 230 kilograms (or about 500 pounds) of canned food and beverages every day for an entire lifetime to exceed the safe level of BPA set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.” bisphenol-a.org is an industry group, and somehow, I think their information may not be impartial.

Hmmmm, what about children? The Environmental Working Group tested canned food for BPA contamination. EWG states,

“Canned foods are thought to be the predominate route of BPA exposure…Two of six cans of infant formula tested contained BPA. The exposure that an infant might receive from canned formula, given his or her small size and limited food sources, makes the level of contamination in these cans particularly disturbing…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…we found that significant fractions of women who regularly eat canned food would exceed safe levels of BPA exposures on average throughout pregnancy.”

So what’s the big deal about BPA? The Green Guide writes,

“Recent research suggests that BPA’s effects extend beyond the reproductive system. A growing number of scientists are concluding, from animal tests, that exposure to BPA in the womb raises the risk of certain cancers, hampers fertility and could contribute to childhood behavioral problems such as hyperactivity. A January 2006 Environmental Health Perspectives study on mice indicated that BPA alters the function of mouse pancreatic cells, which produce insulin, suggesting that the chemical may enhance the risk of developing Type II diabetes…panelists from the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction failed to reach any conclusions about the chemical. But recent tests by the Environmental Working Group found high levels in infant formula and chicken soup”

According to the Food Poisoning Law Blog,

“Scientists have detected BPA in breast milk, serum, saliva, urine, amniotic fluid, and cord blood from at least 2,200 people in Europe, North America, and Asia. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently detected BPA in 95% of nearly 400 U.S. adults and children.”

I contacted two major manufacturers of organic canned food. One of them responded (anonymous), and the other did not (Eden Foods). One of them claims to have BPA free tin cans (Eden Foods), the other did not (they wish to remain anonymous). According to a marketing employee of the anonymous company,

“I am told by the various can suppliers – shrinking number of can suppliers as with most industries in the US – that all commercially produced cans – repeat – all commercially produced cans – have Bisphenol A in their lining…that this is what they use to keep the to keep the metal of the can from leaching into the food…

So as I said, I have received a few inquiries about this, “out of the blue” in the past few weeks, and one of the consumers that I sent the above information to wrote back to me and said, “Eden Foods says they don’t use Bisphenol A in their cans.”

Now, I have made it a policy over the years not to comment on what other companies say or do, or allegedly say or do…but…

the skeptic in me looks at the above statement and alarm bells go off and I want to say, “yes, THEY don’t use Bisphenol A – the cans come with the lining already in them…”

I have to say that I agree with the skeptic. If you were the only food company to have BPA free cans, wouldn’t you plaster this across your label? That being said, I still have switched to only purchasing Eden Foods for the few canned items we buy. I have searched Eden Foods website on numerous occassions looking for this BPA-free claim. The only place I can find it touted is in the right sidebar here. They state,

“Avoiding Chemicals in Plastics & Cans:
• Choose soups, milk and soy milk packaged in cardboard “brick” cartons, by Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc, which are made of safer layers of polyethylene (#2) and also recyclable.
• Choose canned beans from makers who don’t use BPA, such as Eden Foods”

Don’t forget about the bottle/sippy cup risk. Stating a study done by Environment California, the Grist reported back in February and March that,

“when run through a simulated dishwasher 50 to 75 times, name-brand baby bottles leach the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, in levels that have caused reproductive abnormalities in lab animals…”This is one of the highest-volume produced chemicals in the world,” says Fredrick vom Saal, a Missouri biology professor and BPA researcher. “It’s in everybody’s bodies, and it’s a very potent sex hormone. It’s just nuts that it’s being used the way it is.”

Z Recommends has issued their own Z Report on BPA in baby bottles, as well as pacifiers.

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