According to Bloomberg News, 4.7 million metric tons of BPA valued at about $8 billion was produced in 2012. The chemical has been linked to birth defects and decreased social activity that spans generations.
NOTE: MANY OF THESE BRANDS HAVE UPDATED THEIR POLICIES SINCE THE POST WAS WRITTEN – IF YOU KNOW OF AN INACCURACY ON THIS PAGE, PLEASE REPORT IT IN THE COMMENTS.
BPA Free Canned Food BrandsOregon’s Choice Albacore Tuna.Eden Foods.Trader Joe’s Canned corn, green beans, coconut milk, all beans (reg and organic), tuna, poultry, and canned tomatoes.Vital Choice Salmon, Albacore Tuna, Mackrel & Sardines.Tiny Eco-Fish Canned Albacore Tuna.Wild Planet 5 oz. … Edward & Sons.
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Oregon’s Choice Albacore Tuna.
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Eden Foods.
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Trader Joe’s Canned corn, green beans, coconut milk, all beans (reg and organic), tuna, poultry, and canned tomatoes.
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Vital Choice Salmon, Albacore Tuna, Mackrel & Sardines.
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Tiny Eco-Fish Canned Albacore Tuna.
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Wild Planet 5 oz. …
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Edward & Sons.
These Brands Use BPA Free Cans
American Tuna: All canned tuna.
Beach Cliff: All canned fish, including fish steaks and sardines.
Bearitos: All products, people like their organic, vegetarian refried beans.
Bumble Bee: Tuna and sardines canned in the US.
Cento: All products. Best-known for their canned tomatoes.
EarthPure Organic Tomatoes: All tomato products.
Ecofish (Henry & Lisa’s): Canned Tuna.
Farmer’s Market: All products, including their popular organic pumpkin.
Hain Celestial Group: (Earth’s Best, Hain Pure Foods, Health Valley, Hollywood, Imagine Foods, Spectrum, Walnut Acres and Westbrae Natural): as of June 2014 all products are canned in non BPA linings comprised of modified polyester and or acrylic.
Hunt’s Tomato Products: Their popular tomato sauce and tomato paste are in BPA-free cans. Their plain tomatoes are lined with vinyl.
Juanita’s: All canned foods, including their popular menudo and hominy.
Jyoti: All canned Indian foods. Most-popular: Punjabi Chhole (Chickpeas with Potatoes and Onions).
King Oscar Norwegian: All products. Sardines packed in olive oil are their most-popular product.
Muir Glen: All products. Their crushed tomatoes with basil are Amazon’s #1 best-seller.
Native Forest: Coconut Milk.
Natural Sea: Tuna, salmon and clams.
Ocean Brands: Salmon, tuna, oyster, crab, snackit, snack n lunch and fish salads. (Not the shrimp, clams and food service size.)
Pillar Rock: All canned fish, known for their canned salmon.
Port Clyde: All canned fish, including sardines.
Raincoast Trading: All canned fish. Their solid white albacore tuna is a big seller after Andrew Zimmern toured the factory on Travel Channel.
Sprouts Farmers Markets: All private label canned products.
Trader Joe’s Brand: MOST Canned Fish, Chicken & Beef (Except: Sardines, Crabs, & Cherrystone Clams) MOST Canned Beans, Fruits & Vegetables (Except: Mandarins, Hatch Chilies, Artichokes & Olives) ALL Canned Coconut Milk & Coconut Cream. ALL Pet Food. FOUR Canned Soups & Stews: Organic Black Bean Soup, Organic Lentil Soup, Organic Split Pea Soup, and Organic Vegetarian Chili.
Wegman’s: Private label tomatoes, peaches, fruit cocktail and apricot.
Whole Foods: All ‘365 Everyday Value’ canned tomatoes, fish, vegetables, coconut milk.
Tetra-pak (aseptic containers) are lined with Polyethylene, not BPA. ‘Pomi‘ Brand and Hunt’s Chopped tomatoes in tetra-paks are becoming more widely available.
Other BPA Items to Avoid
BPA is found in:
- Food and drink packaging
- Shiny store receipts
- The lining of food cans
- The lining of aluminum cans
- Milk container linings
- The inside of bottle tops
- Water Pipes
- Dental sealants
- Polycarbonate tableware
- Plastic Wrap
- Some Newspaper Ink
- Carbonless Copy Paper
Pay special attention to shiny thermal receipts: ATM receipts, cash register receipts, prescription labels, lottery/airline tickets, etc., many contain BPA.
- Don’t hand children receipts that might contain BPA!
- Hand sanitizer increases absorption of BPA!
- Don’t recycle receipts that might contain BPA!
At the EWG’s urging the FDA Office of Food Additive Safety tested cans for BPA in 2011 and found that 71 of 78 canned foods tested were tainted with BPA. In both the EWG and FDA studies, green beans were the most heavily contaminated. In the FDA tests, a single serving of beans contained as much as 730 parts per billion BPA. In the cans the EWG tested, the EWG found a single serving contained enough BPA to expose a woman or infant to levels more than 200 times the government’s safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals.
In the 2010 study, ‘No Silver Lining‘, food from 50 cans collected from 19 US states and Ontario, Canada were tested for BPA contamination. Over 90% of the cans tested had detectable levels of BPA, and some at much higher levels than had been detected previously. The study’s tests show that meals involving one or more cans of food can “cause a pregnant woman to ingest levels of BPA that have been shown to cause health effects in developing fetuses in laboratory animal studies.” Consumer Reports’ latest tests of canned foods found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods they tested contain some BPA. “A 165-pound adult eating one serving of canned green beans from their sample, could ingest about 0.2 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight per day, about 80 times higher than the experts’ recommended daily upper limit.”
The Breast Cancer Fund released a product testing report called BPA in Thanksgiving Canned Food. For the study canned goods were purchased in California, Massachusetts, New York and Minnesota. Four cans of each of the common Thanksgiving staples: Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, Campbell’s Turkey Gravy, Carnation Evaporated Milk (by Nestle), Del Monte Fresh Cut Sweet Corn (Cream Style), Green Giant Cut Green Beans (by General Mills), Libby’s Pumpkin (by Nestle) and Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce were purchased. The results showed a tremendous variability in BPA levels in the canned foods tested, from non-detectable to 221 parts per billion. Variability was extreme even among cans of the same product made by the same company, which means that consumers have no way of knowing how much BPA is in the canned food they’re buying and consuming. breastcancerfund.org
A 2011 study by Harvard University found much higher levels of BPA in people who ate canned soup. Researchers analyzed the urine of seventy-five people for BPA. Each participant ate a 12-ounce serving of either fresh or canned soup for five days in a row. They were advised not to otherwise alter their regular eating habits. After a two-day break, the groups switched and ate the opposite type of soup. The study showed the canned soup eaters had 1,221 per cent higher levels of BPA in their urine than those who ate the fresh soup.
An August, 2012 study out of the University of Virginia, shows that low dose BPA is associated with decreased social activity in mice for up to four generations!
In September, 2012 a Washington State University researcher and colleagues have found that BPA disrupts female rhesus monkey’s reproductive systems, causing chromosome damage, miscarriages and birth defects. Again the research shows the effects to be generational. Patricia Hunt, the head researcher says “the really stunning thing about the effect is we’re dosing grandma, it’s crossing the placenta and hitting her developing eggs, and if that fetus is a female, it’s changing the likelihood that that female is going to ovulate normal eggs. It’s a three-for-one hit.” The rhesus’ reproductive system are most human-like of any mammal and were tested with BPA levels similar to those in humans.
Tuna 101: Everything You Need to Know About Shopping for Canned Tuna
FAQ
What tuna is BPA free?
How do I know if my cans are BPA free?
Are hunts cans BPA free?
Is canned tuna BPA-free?
While some canned tuna brands, like St. Jude, specifically call out their product as BPA-free, shoppers don’t necessarily need to factor it into their equation to figure out the best canned tuna. While tuna is a huge tribe of saltwater fish, canned tuna mainly sticks to a few specific species.
What are the health benefits of eating tuna fish canned in olive oil?
Tuna in oil is a better option, because when the fish is canned with water, if metals are present, they are deposited in it and, during consumption, they come into contact with the organism. On the other hand, the oil option is ideal, as the oil will be discarded and, along with it, the metals will also be.
Where can I find BPA free canned food?
Seek out BPA Free Canned Goods. Some companies are starting to emerge with a new method of lining cans. Eden Organic is a good example. Their beans (only) are canned in BPA Free cans. Check out my list of BPA Free canned food. Muir Glen (transitioning to BPA Free cans for their tomato products.
Which canned seafood is BPA-free?
Below is a list of the top ten canned sources of seafood that are wild-caught, nutritious and BPA-free. Enjoy. Wild Planet is our go-to seafood brand. This sustainably-caught Alaskan salmon tastes great and is highly nutritious. Salmon is one of the richest sources of omega 3 fatty acids.