Canned food has taken over our lives and our cabinets providing a simple way to get lunch or dinner on the table quickly. But there’s a dangerous and dirty secret, called BPA  in 19 name-brand canned foods.

BPA is used in the lining of cans and the toxin leaches from the lining into the food. Bisphenol-A, or BPA, is a chemical thought to increase the risk of infertility, cancer, diabetes, and even heart disease.

Consumer Reports revealed that highest levels of BPA have been found is canned soups, tuna and green beans. And sadly, buying only organic foods won’t protect you from BPA,either.

The Consumer Reports showed no real difference in BPA levels between organic and non-organic canned goods. The issue is with the plastic coatings used on the cans themselves. Even cans labeled BPA-free contained BPA. And,BPA levels weren’t equal in all the cans they tested. The level of BPA  (35.9) parts per billion (ppb) was so high in Del Monte Fresh Cut Green Beans Blue Lake that the maximum safe amount of BPA allowed by the FDA would be exceeded by eating one serving of the product.

Imagine the dangers of canned food like this when they’re fed to children who are even more sensitive to the effects of bisphenol-A.

The current US federal guidelines put the daily upper limit of safe exposure at 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight.

However, this limit is based on studies from the 1980s. These studies do not take into account the findings of more recent animal and laboratory research, which have found that far lower doses of BPA may still pose serious health risks.

Progresso Vegetable Soup had BPA levels ranging from 67 to 134  (ppb ). Campbell’s Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup had BPA levels ranging from 54.5 to 102 ppb.

The lowest measurable levels were found in Similac Advance Infant Formula liquid concentrate (9 ppb) and Nestle Juicy Juice in a can (9.7 ppb). Their powdered versions were free of detectable levels of BPA.

The following two companies were the only ones found to offer any canned food that is free of BPA.

1. Eden Foods (Organic Canned Beans)
2. Henry & Lisa`s Natural Seafood (Sashimi-Grade Canned Albacore Tuna)

What can you do in light of this new information about food that is probably in the back of your kitchen pantry?

• Make and freeze several batches of homemade soup to have at the ready if colds or the flu strikes your family. Reheating frozen homemade soup is almost as easy as reheating the canned variety.

• Keep yourself educated and aware. Download the list of BPA-tested foods and keep it handy when ordering groceries online or making up shopping lists. Full results of the canned and packaged products tested by Consumer Report are outlined here.

I know, I ought to be smart enough to know better and avoid canned foods. But honestly canned food is just so darn convenient. And it has a longer shelf life. But longer shelf life is part of the problem. Cans can sit for months on a shelf, absorbing more of the BPA into the foods.

Want to know more about dangerous toxin BPA in canned food?

Then, post your question below.

Tweet me in Tweeter and follow me on Facebook.

Yours truly, Polly – Organic Gardener