Kicking the Can?

Major Retailers Still Selling Canned Food with Toxic BPA

Bisphenol A, often called BPA, is one of the most widely used and thoroughly studied toxic chemicals. Despite hundreds of scientific studies showing that exposure to BPA is linked to significant health concerns - diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer - it is still used in food cans that millions of Americans buy every day. 

Center for Environmental Health and Maryland PIRG Foundation

Bisphenol A, often called BPA, is one of the most widely used and thoroughly studied toxic chemicals. Despite hundreds of scientific studies showing that exposure to BPA is linked to significant health concerns – diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer – it is still used in food cans that millions of Americans buy every day. BPA in can linings can migrate into the food inside the can, and is an important source of exposure to this toxic chemical. This report documents the current use of BPA in can linings, compared with an earlier report about cans purchased in 2015. We found that 38% of the cans we tested from four large national retail chains — Kroger, Albertsons, Dollar Tree, and 99 Cents Only — still use BPA-containing linings. We also found that, in many can linings, different toxic materials may be used in place of BPA. For example, 19% of the cans tested use linings containing PVC, which we call a toxic substitute. 

Overall, progress is being made in reducing the use of BPA in can linings, but more work is needed by the nation’s top retailers to reduce the use of BPA and find safer substitutes.

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