By steering away from plastics one would probably have considered themselves safe from BPA (Bisphenol A), but it seems that it’s once again time to go through the pantry as BPA is extensively used in the lining of canned foods too. Breast cancer fund.org offer some handy tips for avoiding BPA in canned foods:
Soups: Those canned soups surely are tempting, but look for ones in tetra paks, or even better make your own from fresh produce. Making your own soup doesn’t have be hard or particularly time consuming especially if you have a good blender.
Ready meals: Replace with frozen ones if you crave convenience and make sure you don’t heat them in the plastic (but try to cook as much as possible your self)
Vegetables: Canned vegetables are among the most toxic group of canned foods, so use fresh produce instead (which is of course better anyway, but more expensive). Canned tomatoes make a great base for a variety of dishes, so look for tomatoes in glass jars or tetra paks.
Fruit: Just like canned vegetables go with fresh or dried fruit instead.
Fish: I haven’t come across an excellent solution to this one without having to substantially increase the food budget. Canned tuna, salmon, sardines etc. are hard to come by in other forms. You may be lucky to find a few in glass jars (e.g.sardines), otherwise use frozen ones or buy fresh. This is what I do and it works well.
Some companies have started offering alternatives to BPA in cans such as Eden Organic, but unless you can find a can that says “BPA free” (and doesn’t contain some other harmful substitute) it most probably wouldn’t be the healthiest choice.
If you would like to know more about BPA this Detailed fact sheet is well worth keeping as a reference.
Reference:
Breast cancer fund.org
