What do you do about BPA in canned goods?
I know there's a similar question already in the list regarding toxins and what people do to avoid them. Along the same toxic string, a bunch of questions regarding canned goods:
- What do people do when their kids really like canned veggies (esp. beans) and gobble them up?
- Have people taken canned goods out of their diet entirely due to BPA in the lining?
- Has any company produced BPA-free canned goods?
Thanks!
5 Answers
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I have been trying to stay away from canned foods, but it's been hard. Particularly canned tomatoes, which I used to use a lot of for pastas, chilis, etc..... I've replaced with frozen where I can (green beans for example) and fresh otherwise. I still use the occasional canned food as a last resort.
I did read that there are not yet any BPA-free canned goods. Many companies are developing alternatives, but when I checked a few weeks ago, they didn't seem to be on the market yet. One question which I asked on the toxins thread is even if they come up with an alternative BPA-free can, what chemicals are they going to replace it with that we'll find is unsafe in another 5 years?
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Some vegetables like green beans and tomatoes also come in glass jars.
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We haven't eliminated canned veggies and beans, but we've cut down on them quite a bit. Beans are really the one thing that we haven't been able to bring ourselves to spend the time cooking, nor have we found an alternative.
My husband and I rationalize - we grew up on canned beans and veggies, more than our kids are getting, and we're mostly okay, so it can't be a CRISIS OF EPIC PROPORTIONS... but, that said, we just bought Pyrex containers today to get rid of the Rubbermaid with BPA that we'd been using; we're cutting down on canned goods (and eating fresh or frozen instead when possible); we're slowly switching to steel water bottles; etc. etc.
Net: I think having beans in our diet is more important than the BPA that comes with them, and we'll try to eliminate BPA elsewhere.
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Do you know that you can use fresh tomatoes to cook spagetti sauce, or chili etc? If you have a gas stove, you can sear the skins and peel the tomatoes before adding them to your sauce. If you don't have gas, you can drop the tomatoes into boiling water for 10-15 seconds-- then remove them. The skins should slide off. The tomatoes are then ready to crush or chop and add to your sauces. If you don't remove the tomato skins they will be "tough" and noticeable in your food.
I did a quick internet search on plastic bags and freezing.... What I found indicated that the key plastics emitting BPA's are hard, so plastic bags are not a big deal. Also, heat is an important element -- freezing didn't seem to be a problem.
- Evelyn, May 30, 2010