Betty on the News: Tests Find Harmful Chemical in Canned Soups, Juice and More

BPA has been discovered in several name-brand canned products.

-Carolyn French

In several shocking new studies conducted by Consumer Reports, it was found that nearly 19 conventional canned foods - including green beans, tuna and juices - contain large amounts of Bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA, used for years in food-can liners and clear plastic bottles, has been associated with a wide range of health effects including heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, reproductive abnormalities, heart disease and diabetes. Canada has restricted the use of BPA, and a few U.S. states have done the same.

Three different samples of each canned item were tested for BPA, and it was discovered that the highest levels of the organic compound were found in samples of canned green beans and canned soups.

Due to the new tests Consumers Union wrote a second letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to request that the agency ban the use of BPA in food and beverage-contact materials by the end of the year.

"The findings are noteworthy because they indicate the extent of potential exposure," Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Technical Policy at Consumers Union, said. "Children eating multiple servings per day of canned foods with BPA levels comparable to the ones we found in some tested products could get a dose of BPA near levels that have caused adverse effects in several animal studies. The lack of any safety margin between the levels that cause harm in animals and those that people could potentially ingest from canned foods has been inadequately addressed by the FDA to date." (Huffington Post)

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