Would you like BPA with that?

#health #nutrition #bpa

I replaced all our plastic storage containers and dishes a year or so ago with glass and silicone lids. Specifically to discard the risk of BPA.  BPA stands for Bisphenol_A which is either harmless or deadly depending on who you believe.


Bisphenol_A
Pro BPA site
Another Pro BPA .org site


I don't really care if it is bad or not.  I'd just rather not be exposed to it if I can avoid it.  


It turns out it didn't make a bean of difference since we didn't stop eating canned food over that time and this study shows some mind blowing levels of BPA in people who do eat a lot of canned products. 

BPA levels in people who eat canned food


We've been canning for more than a hundred years although I don't know when they added the plastic lining on the inside.  I am assuming this lining is leaching the BPA into the food.  I guess I can't complain too much since before the lining we were dealing with botulism and listeria and other fun goodies from the canned goods.  But with the BPA issue being known for years and given the longevity of canning as a food preservation technique, you would think someone would have looked at the process at some point and asked 'is there any health risks associated with what we are doing here?'  


Why wouldn't BPA be checked for?  Perhaps more importantly why would there be non profit websites protesting that BPA is perfectly safe?!  Does it strike anyone else as odd that a non profit would make a mission out of protecting a version of plastic?


Now I am wondering at the logistics of creating some sort of home BPA test.  Either on the products or on BPA levels in our own blood streams.  Like a skin prick test.

My gut feeling tells me BPA is not good for anyone and with two little boys in the house the last thing I want is to expose them to it.  So why not go down the glass route over plastic storage and limit family exposure to it where possible?  I haven't heard many people say glass was toxic or potentially gave prepubescent kids hormonal development earlier than they should.


One of the ways I want to eventually change the world is to build a company that simply independently monitors and reviews products and brands that are in our food chain. The government doesn't do a good enough job.  Not just on BPA but on a whole variety of food issues.


Definitely time for us to limit canned foods in our home.  What about you?