Kroger Supermarkets Ban BPA. Will Safeway Do the Same?

It seems like bisphenol-A (BPA) is found in virtually everything these days. Canned foods and beverages, plastic bottles, credit card receipts, even dental sealants contain the hormone-disrupting chemical. But there's one place where BPA won't lurk for much longer — Kroger grocery store-brand products.

Kroger, a national supermarket chain, recently committed to phase BPA out of its store-brand foods and beverages as well as its cash register receipts. By the end of 2011, all Kroger stores will have switched to BPA-free receipt paper. Eventually the store plans to eliminate BPA from the can linings of its Kroger, Value Brand, Private Selection, Comforts, Mirra, Active Lifestyle, and Fresh Selections products.

"While there is no conclusive scientific evidence that this minimal exposure to BPA in can linings poses any risks to consumers, Kroger has begun a process that we believe will result in the removal of BPA in the linings of canned goods in all of our corporate brand items," Keith Dailey, a Kroger spokesman, recently said.

The evidence against BPA may not be "conclusive," but it's certainly significant — and it seems to grow by the day. Studies have linked BPA exposure to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, reproductive problems, early onset puberty, and a laundry list of other disorders. Tests done on lab animals showed that BPA could contribute to breast and prostate cancers. And just last week, a new study linked in-utero BPA exposure with a higher incidence of childhood asthma.

This growing mountain of evidence showcasing BPA's potential pitfalls has prompted some national and state governments to voluntarily give the hormone disruptor the heave-ho. Canada registered BPA as a "toxic substance," while a handful of U.S. states banned BPA in children's products like baby bottles and sippy cups.

Companies are hopping on the BPA ban bandwagon, too: H.J. Heinz, ConAgra, Hain Celestial, and General Mills have all put plans in place to phase BPA out of their canned products.  Even fast food restaurants like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken are starting to drop BPA from their receipts.

Kroger and Whole Foods are the only national supermarket chains to ditch BPA at this point, but hopefully the duo will be joined by other grocers soon. And while Kroger and Whole Foods voluntarily made moves to separate themselves from BPA, you can bet the decision stemmed from one important pressure point — consumer demand.

So let's not stop with Kroger. Let's push other national supermarket chains to eliminate BPA from their store brands and cash register receipts. You can join the BPA-free movement by signing our petition asking Safeway to put a plan in place to phase BPA out of its cash register receipts and store-brand canned goods.

Photo credit: mediafury via Flickr