Chart: How to Avoid Cancer-Causing BPA at the Grocery Store
We all really want to avoid the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), but it can be difficult to navigate the grocery store aisles without accidentally putting a brand that still uses BPA in your cart. To help with this, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released a new report analyzing which brands continue to line their cans with BPA.
Some of the brands are surprising; some not so much. However, the number of brands using BPA is shocking. According to the EWG:
- “78 brands, or 31 percent, used BPA-lined cans for all products. About 46 percent of the brands in this group did not say whether they were working with can suppliers or packaging manufacturers to shift to BPA-free cans or to test substitutes.
- 43 percent of all brands gave ambiguous or incomplete answers to questions about their use of BPA and/or did not respond to EWG’s queries.
- Companies that said they had eliminated BPA or were in the process of doing so did not disclose the substitutes they were using, an omission that had the effect of slowing scientific study of the possible hazards of these substitute materials. Only 13 brands volunteered even a vague description of the alternative can coatings they use.”
BPA has been linked to breast cancer, heart problems, low sex drive, strange food intolerances, spikes in blood pressure, and even excess weight around the belly.
Read: 7 Nasty Effects of BPA – The Plastic Chemical
The global canned food market will be worth more than $100 billion dollars by 2020, but they stand to lose a lot of that market share if we stop buying their health-compromising products.
Amy’s Kitchen, Inc. sets the gold standard. It uses BPA-free cans for ALL its canned goods and makes this policy transparent on its website. The company also just received approval to build one of the first non-GMO, organic, fast-food drive-thru’s right across the street from a dying mega-company’s golden arches (McDonald’s).
Here are the companies you should avoid if you don’t want hormone-mimicking, endocrine-disrupting chemicals wrecking your health:
So much for the BS about Target moving to healthier products.
I love all these companies who act like they are “family business” but yet still use this crap!
we can debate forever (because there’s really no answer yet) the possible health effects of BPA but why – WHY? – does almost every anti-BPA story use pictures of disposable water bottles that DO NOT CONTAIN BPA? could it be that some people don’t know what they are talking about?
What chemical in PET (plastic beverage) bottles is used to maintain the integrity of the plastic? I don’t know – I’m asking. You seem to but haven’t shared the info.
no, I don’t…I don’t even know if there is a comparable chemical but you can Google the question just as easily as I can…I just know a lot about BPA and personally believe it to be safe…there is just so much misinformation out there…but this is a story about how BPA is bad for you…don’t contribute to the misinformation by associating BPA with single use disposable water bottles…I also think it undermines the credibility of the author of the story…
I believe you can add Progresso soups to that list.
So what is the substitute? BPT? SAME PROBLEM….
It’s like saying “We don’t use Teflon on our non stick pans – It’s Diamond Silver coat.” read the small print and the substance they use is indeed not Teflon ™ but Polytetrafluoroethelyne, Better known as PTFE. See, Teflon is a TRADEMARK for Dupont. NO ONE can use the word Teflon with out Dupont’s permission. Yet Teflon is nothing other than PTFE. PTFE is PTFE and it’s not good for you. Period.
Do you ask for a Kleenex or Facial Tissue because Kleenex is a trademarked brand. Same with Band Aid. Do you say Aluminum foil or Aluminium? The metal is called Aluminium – Alcan has trademarked the BRAND Aluminum. But all of these have become a household name.
BPT is as harmful as BPA. If it’s in plastic… Not a great idea… And we wonder where all the Men’s Men went.
How about glass as a substitute ?
“Aluminum” is on the periodic table. “Aluminium” is NOT. Aluminum is not a brand name.
Yes, Aluminum is on the US periodic table as an adaptation from the ENGLISH element AL number 13 Aluminium. So BOTH spellings are on the table. Aluminium being the first one. Alcan pegged the word Aluminum in the 60’s and it stuck because it’s easier to say.
Aluminum was long before the 60s. The guy who discovered it called it Aluminum, so that’s what I go with.
I do agree with your comments about PTFE, BPA, BPT, etc. though. 100% spot on.
Rao’s is on the list….Their Marinara and other types of sauces are in glass jars!!!!