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You’ve probably heard about the links between the amount of bisphenol-A (BPA) people consume and higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, and male infertility. As a result of all the press, many companies have switched to BPA-free formulas. Then again, some haven’t—making it all the more confusing to figure out what’s OK and what to avoid. Here’s where you’re most likely to find BPA today and how to steer clear.
Canned soup and vegetables
Risk level: high
Canned food—including soup, tuna, and green beans—has to be prevented from reacting with the metal containers it’s packed in by a thin layer of buffer material, which almost always contains BPA. Even worse, “the cans are heated at the end of the production process to sterilize them, which causes more BPA to leech into the food,” says Sonya Lunder, M.P.H., a senior analyst with the non-profit Environmental Working Group. Although several studies have tracked how eating more canned foods leads to higher levels of BPA in the body, food manufacturers like Campbell’s and Del Monte have been slow to change to a BPA-free lining. But smaller companies, particularly organic foods sold at eco-conscious stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, often use BPA-free cans—check the label or contact their customer-service reps to be sure.
Aluminum cans
Risk level: low
Just like the steel cans used in food, aluminum pop-top soda and beer cans also use a thin liner that often contains BPA. A 2009 study by Health Canada, our northern neighbor’s FDA, tested 72 canned beverages and found small amounts of BPA in 96 percent of those products. However, Health Canada also noted that you’d have to drink “approximately 940 canned drinks in one day” to get enough BPA in your body to pose a health risk. Just last week, 74 percent of Coca-Cola shareholders voted against releasing data about what the beverage juggernaut is doing to reduce BPA exposure.
Aluminum drinking bottles
Risk level: low
Reusable aluminum bottles came into vogue a few years ago as a greener alternative to throwing away millions of empty plastic water bottles throughout the year. Unfortunately, the thin coating inside those bottles typically contained BPA. Swedish company SIGG, one of the best-known aluminum bottle makers, switched over to a BPA-free formula in August 2008. So if your aluminum bottle is more than 3 years old, it’s past time to swap it out for a new BPA-free model. (Not only because of BPA, but, face it, there are probably other critters growing in it, too.)
Plastic sport water bottles
Risk level: medium
Hard clear plastic water bottles are favored by active sports enthusiasts for their near-unbreakability. But if that container is made with polycarbonate resin, then it almost certainly includes BPA—which is particularly likely to leech out into the water if the bottle is left to sit the sun. Sport bottle-makers Nalgene and Camelbak have transitioned their product lines to BPA-free alternatives. However, a recent study in Environmental Health Perspectives found that some plastic containers marketed as BPA-free contain other compounds that can mimic estrogen. Our advice: Pick up a stainless steel water bottle, which doesn’t need any kind of lining the way aluminum bottles do.
Bottled water
Risk level: low
Both Coca-Cola, maker of Dasani, and Pepsi, which bottles Aquafina, use polyethelene soda bottles (with the recycling code of “1” on the bottom) that are not made with BPA. Nestle, which bottles water under the labels Poland Spring, Deer Park, and San Pellegrino, among others, says all their containers smaller than three gallons are BPA-free. What does that leave? The big, three- and five-gallon jugs perched in your office water cooler, which are made of polycarbonate and do contain BPA. That makes refilling your cup from the tap, (or, if you’re really brave, the toilet), sound like a smarter choice.
Food storage containers
Risk level: medium
Like the sport bottle-makers, the companies that manufacture the little bowls you keep leftovers in have also begun to switch over to a BPA-free material. Rubbermaid made the transition in 2009, and OXO began using a BPA-free plastic called Eastman Tritan three years ago. Tupperware, for its part, starting using BPA-free materials for children’s products in March 2010, and currently just 10 percent of its product line contains BPA. If your kitchen gear is more than a few years old, look into buying a new set.
Store receipts
Risk level: medium
Cash registers use paper with a heat-sensitive coating to allow the fast printing of numbers and totals. And do you know what’s in that coating? If you guessed Bisphenol-A, pat yourself on the back. What’s more, a Swiss study found that touching a freshly-minted receipt, particularly if your fingers are damp or greasy, allows a fair amount of BPA to absorb into your body. Unless you work in retail and handle receipts 10 hours a day, or maybe work in a receipt-paper factory, the amount of BPA you’ll pick up from handling a receipt is pretty small. But take it as an example of just how pervasive this chemical really is.
That said, BPA isn’t the only chemical to be worried about. Plenty of compounds can leech into your system—and they may even be making you gain weight! Read this excerpt from The New American Diet to find out what else to avoid.
—Denny Watkins
Canned soup and vegetables
Risk level: high
Canned food—including soup, tuna, and green beans—has to be prevented from reacting with the metal containers it’s packed in by a thin layer of buffer material, which almost always contains BPA. Even worse, “the cans are heated at the end of the production process to sterilize them, which causes more BPA to leech into the food,” says Sonya Lunder, M.P.H., a senior analyst with the non-profit Environmental Working Group. Although several studies have tracked how eating more canned foods leads to higher levels of BPA in the body, food manufacturers like Campbell’s and Del Monte have been slow to change to a BPA-free lining. But smaller companies, particularly organic foods sold at eco-conscious stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, often use BPA-free cans—check the label or contact their customer-service reps to be sure.
Aluminum cans
Risk level: low
Just like the steel cans used in food, aluminum pop-top soda and beer cans also use a thin liner that often contains BPA. A 2009 study by Health Canada, our northern neighbor’s FDA, tested 72 canned beverages and found small amounts of BPA in 96 percent of those products. However, Health Canada also noted that you’d have to drink “approximately 940 canned drinks in one day” to get enough BPA in your body to pose a health risk. Just last week, 74 percent of Coca-Cola shareholders voted against releasing data about what the beverage juggernaut is doing to reduce BPA exposure.
Aluminum drinking bottles
Risk level: low
Reusable aluminum bottles came into vogue a few years ago as a greener alternative to throwing away millions of empty plastic water bottles throughout the year. Unfortunately, the thin coating inside those bottles typically contained BPA. Swedish company SIGG, one of the best-known aluminum bottle makers, switched over to a BPA-free formula in August 2008. So if your aluminum bottle is more than 3 years old, it’s past time to swap it out for a new BPA-free model. (Not only because of BPA, but, face it, there are probably other critters growing in it, too.)
Plastic sport water bottles
Risk level: medium
Hard clear plastic water bottles are favored by active sports enthusiasts for their near-unbreakability. But if that container is made with polycarbonate resin, then it almost certainly includes BPA—which is particularly likely to leech out into the water if the bottle is left to sit the sun. Sport bottle-makers Nalgene and Camelbak have transitioned their product lines to BPA-free alternatives. However, a recent study in Environmental Health Perspectives found that some plastic containers marketed as BPA-free contain other compounds that can mimic estrogen. Our advice: Pick up a stainless steel water bottle, which doesn’t need any kind of lining the way aluminum bottles do.
Bottled water
Risk level: low
Both Coca-Cola, maker of Dasani, and Pepsi, which bottles Aquafina, use polyethelene soda bottles (with the recycling code of “1” on the bottom) that are not made with BPA. Nestle, which bottles water under the labels Poland Spring, Deer Park, and San Pellegrino, among others, says all their containers smaller than three gallons are BPA-free. What does that leave? The big, three- and five-gallon jugs perched in your office water cooler, which are made of polycarbonate and do contain BPA. That makes refilling your cup from the tap, (or, if you’re really brave, the toilet), sound like a smarter choice.
Food storage containers
Risk level: medium
Like the sport bottle-makers, the companies that manufacture the little bowls you keep leftovers in have also begun to switch over to a BPA-free material. Rubbermaid made the transition in 2009, and OXO began using a BPA-free plastic called Eastman Tritan three years ago. Tupperware, for its part, starting using BPA-free materials for children’s products in March 2010, and currently just 10 percent of its product line contains BPA. If your kitchen gear is more than a few years old, look into buying a new set.
Store receipts
Risk level: medium
Cash registers use paper with a heat-sensitive coating to allow the fast printing of numbers and totals. And do you know what’s in that coating? If you guessed Bisphenol-A, pat yourself on the back. What’s more, a Swiss study found that touching a freshly-minted receipt, particularly if your fingers are damp or greasy, allows a fair amount of BPA to absorb into your body. Unless you work in retail and handle receipts 10 hours a day, or maybe work in a receipt-paper factory, the amount of BPA you’ll pick up from handling a receipt is pretty small. But take it as an example of just how pervasive this chemical really is.
That said, BPA isn’t the only chemical to be worried about. Plenty of compounds can leech into your system—and they may even be making you gain weight! Read this excerpt from The New American Diet to find out what else to avoid.
—Denny Watkins
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