Food

Not Just the Plastic Bottles

Oh good. In addition to plastic bottles, the endocrine disruptor "BPA" has been found in a variety of canned foods.

Consumer Reports' latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods tested contain measurable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA). The results are reported in the December 2009 issue and also available online. BPA, which has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners, has been restricted in Canada and some U.S. states and municipalities because it has been linked to a wide array of health effects including reproductive abnormalities, heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. [...]

Canned Del Monte Fresh Cut Green Beans Blue Lake had the highest amount of BPA for a single sample, with levels ranging from 35.9 parts per billon (ppb) to 191 ppb. Progresso Vegetable Soup BPA levels ranged from 67 to 134 ppb. Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup had BPA levels ranging from 54.5 to 102 ppb.

By the way, Progresso soup is basically processed chemical sludge -- delicious processed chemical sludge, but processed chemical sludge nonetheless.

At the end of the month, the FDA is going to release the results of a BPA study. Hopefully this will lead to a nationwide ban. Again, measures like this have to go hand in hand with healthcare reform.