Toxic chemical found in canned foods

Story Created: May 18, 2010 at 2:29 PM CDT

CHICAGO - Eating common canned foods is exposing consumers to levels of bisphenol A (BPA) equal to levels shown to cause health problems in laboratory animals, according to a new study released today by Illinois PIRG and the National Work Group for Safe Markets, a coalition of public health and environmental groups.

The study tested food from 50 cans from 19 US states and one Canadian province for BPA contamination. Over 90% of the cans tested had detectable levels of BPA, some at higher levels than have been detected in previous studies.

The new study comes as state lawmakers in Springfield consider legislation to eliminate BPA from baby food packaging. The BPA-Free Kids Act could be voted on before the end of the legislative session this month.

The canned foods tested were brand name fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, soups, tomato products, sodas and milks. The cans were purchased from retail stores and were chosen from report participants’ pantry shelves, and sent to an independent laboratory for testing. One can of DelMonte green beans had the highest levels of BPA ever found in canned food, at 1,140 parts per billion.

A co-author of the report said the study hit home with her.

“I was pregnant with my second child at the time of this study," said Bobbi Chase Wilding of Clean New York, a report co-author for The National Workgroup for Safe Markets. "I hate to think I exposed her to BPA through the canned foods I ate, especially when there is evidence that even small amounts of this chemical can cross the placenta and impact prenatal development.”

The state director for Illinois PRG said the research is eye-opening.

“When my mom told me to eat my veggies she didn’t know that I’d also be eating a synthetic sex hormone called BPA - and how would she? It isn’t on the label,” said Brian Imus. “The results of this study show the need for Illinois lawmakers to take action to protect Illinois children and remove BPA from baby food packaging.”

BPA is in the inside lining of most canned foods in North America, and in other polycarbonate containers, like water bottles and baby bottles. BPA has been found in the urine of over 90 percent of Americans by the Center for Disease Control and in the cord blood of newborn babies. Exposure to low doses of BPA have been linked to illnesses that are on the rise in the US, including breast and prostate cancer, abnormal behavior, diabetes and heart disease, infertility, developmental and reproductive harm, and obesity, which raises the risk of early puberty, a known risk factor for breast cancer.

The test results show there is no consistency in the amount of BPA in specific food brands or in types of food, which prevents consumers from being able to avoid BPA canned foods just by looking at a label. For example, two different cans of the same brand of peas with two separate “lot numbers” were drastically different: one had six parts per billion of BPA, while the other had over 300 parts per billion of BPA.

“BPA is a bad actor chemical that should not be in contact with food we eat,” says Dr. Gail Prins a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School and a leading BPA researcher. “Hundreds of independent peer-reviewed scientific studies have found harm from low doses of BPA. The levels found in this study are definitely concerning, and indicate that the time has come to remove this chemical from food cans.”

Dr. George Lundgren, a Minnesota family physician who was biomonitored for a separate study and who knows that he had BPA in his own body, has seen an increase in BPA-linked health effects in his patients. “The cases of diabetes and obesity are increasing at such a rate in my own practice that diet and lack of exercise alone just can’t explain it. And the fact that there are no labels on the products that are exposing us to a chemical that may be linked to these serious health problems and other illness is disturbing,” said Lundgren.

Because there is no federal law banning the use of BPA in food and drink containers, advocates pointed to the need for stronger laws to protect consumers from the harmful chemical.

BPA has been banned from baby bottles and children’s sippy cups in five states, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin, with a sixth BPA ban bill expected to be signed into law in Vermont soon), four counties in New York and the City of Chicago. Connecticut and pending legislation in Vermont restrict the use of BPA in cans of formula and baby food.

Denmark recently banned BPA in all infant food packaging and Canada and France have banned BPA in baby bottles. Japan asked manufacturers for voluntary restriction of BPA from canned food in 1998 and saw a decline in their population’s levels of contamination.

“Anyone who reads this report would agree that getting BPA out of food is an urgent food safety issue that demands immediate congressional action,” said Janet Nudelman, policy director at the Breast Cancer Fund. “Fortunately the Senate has the opportunity to address this problem right now by including strong protections against food-based exposures to BPA in the Food Safety Modernization Act. This is our best chance to protect Americans, especially our kids, from this toxic chemical.”

Mike Schade from the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, another co-author, says, “General Mills just announced that it is removing BPA from its organic tomato cans, so we know that companies that want to do the right thing will. But, we need the FDA to ensure a basic level of protection for all consumers.”