BPA spikes 1,200 percent after eating canned soup: study

[FarCenter]

People who ate canned soup for five days straight saw their urinary levels of the chemical bisphenol A spike 1,200 percent compared to those who ate fresh soup, US researchers said on Tuesday.

The randomized study, described as "one of the first to quantify BPA levels in humans after ingestion of canned foods," was done by Harvard University researchers and appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association's November 23 issue.

"We've known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body," said lead author Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.

"This study suggests that canned foods may be an even greater concern, especially given their wide use."

The chemical BPA is an endocrine disruptor that has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animal studies at levels of 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight and higher, though it remains uncertain if the same effects cross over to humans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.france24.com/en/20111122-bpa-spikes-1200-percent-after-eating-canned-soup-study

[csziggy]

1. Campbells canned soups have a liner in the can

A lot of canned products do not. I suspect that the BPA comes from that liner, not the can so before I'd give up completely on canned products, I would want to see a study comparing lined canned products versus non lined canned products.

The one I would miss the most would be canned tomato products. I use a good amount of those in the winter when I can't get fresh tomatoes. And I would bet that they have lined cans since the acidic tomatoes would tend to eat through a steel can.

[FarCenter]

2. Right, BPA is in the varnish-like coating inside the can that protects the metal

Otherwise the food would react with the metal.

[grasswire]

4. ouch, yes

I loved canned tomatoes -- often have a can for lunch with grated cheese. Low in calories, high in good stuff.

I'll have to rethink that.

[FarCenter]

5. While the article recommends fresh vegatables, I think frozen offer a better value

While getting away from the BPA in the coatings of cans.

[csziggy]

12. Wonder if there is any leaching from the plastic bags?

I like frozen vegetables. Some days my hand just do not want to deal with cleaning and cutting up fresh vegies (my arthritis is getting worse) and being able to just dump some vegetables into a pyrex dish and nuke them is so convenient.

At my age, I am not going to get too exercised about the BPA. Considering what I grew up breathing, living in Central Florida with the phosphate and other chemical plants, how casual we were about breathing crap - heck, we used to run out and PLAY in the DDT fog they sprayed to control mosquitoes! Mom would buy Malathion dust it along the walls to control the bugs. It's amazing I've lived this long, and my parents are still alive at 88 and 90!

I worry more about the kids. They deserve a cleaner, safer world and while it is cleaner and safer (as to chemicals and pollution) than when I was a kid, I am not sure if the children of today will be able to say that.

[bananas]

15. Jarred tomatoes would probably be ok. nt

[bananas]

16. Here's some BPA-free tomatoes in jars and boxes

Follow the embedded links, they go to Pomi, Trader Joes, and some other brands:

http://guide.thesoftlanding.com/2010/01/04/do-bpa-free-canned-or-jarred-tomatoes-exist/

Do BPA-free Canned or Jarred Tomatoes Exist?
by Alicia on January 4, 2010

<snip>

UPDATE 1/14/10: We finally confirmed some BPA-free tomato options thanks to our awesome blog reader’s suggestions! Read about it here.

UPDATE 1/20/11: Eden Foods Finds a Better Solution to BPA-lined Cans for Tomatoes and Sauces

P.S. This was yet another great Skribit suggestion from our readers! Looking for something else? Let us know by leaving your own suggestion on the right-hand side of our blog —->>>>

<snip>

[klook]

8. Well, that sucks

I eat a lot of homemade tomato-based soups in the winter, so I guess I've been getting a good dose of that crap. x( I'll start looking for frozen as an alternative. Thanks for the tip.

[JoeyT]

18. Self-delete.

Reading comprehension fail. I misread it and thought you meant fresh tomatoes you had canned.

[darth marth]

11. yes, tomatoes have the most BPA leach out of the can liner

not good

[saras]

3. and it will remain uncertain until the use of bisphenol A is no longer profitable

...at which point the research results can be released.

[Aerows]

6. I wonder if Progresso soups have this same problem

I love their vegetable barley soup.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. 2 reports say yes, it is in Campbells and Progresso.

sigh...back to making soup at home.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/december-2009/food/bpa/what-we-found/bisphenol-a-what-we-found.htm

http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/09/plastic-bpa-in-cans

[Citizen Worker]

9. This is why I'm about to make lentil soup.

[kath]

10. I wonder ab out canned baked beans & canned tomatoes (whole, diced, stewed, etc)

What about canned juices, such as V8?

[jmowreader]

14. The problem is the white liner in the cans

So...any tomato product, probably canned baked beans, and canned green beans would all do it.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. Thanksgiving meals have a lot of products from cans.

Starting with the pumpkin puree.

[Brickbat]

17. I think quite a few levels of things would spike after five days of canned soup -- or five straight

days of just about anything, for that matter.