Toxic Green Beans: High Bisphenol-A Levels In Del Monte Foods

by Jessica Belsky · 2010-11-09 07:00:00 UTC
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Riddle me this: What's been linked to everything from heart disease to diabetes, reproductive problems to obesity and cancer? The answer is bisphenol-A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical that's added into food packaging like plastic bottles and aluminum cans. In fact, it's tough to avoid BPA, as the chemical is found in everything from canned veggies to cash register receipts (yup, seriously). It's everywhere.

The Los Angeles Times covered the results of a recent scientific study from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Researchers examined BPA levels in foods that Americans eat on a regular basis. The findings make it even more clear just how ubiquitous BPA is in food packaging: Out of 105 foods bought at a Dallas grocery store, 63 of them containted "quantifiable levels" of BPA, according to the L.A. Times.

Researchers detected BPA in everything from Chicken of the Sea tuna to Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs to Enfamil baby formula. The chemical even turned up in canned pet foods. The worst offender, though, was Del Monte. Del Monte's Fresh Cut Green Beans in a can contained more BPA than any other food tested in the study.

This isn't the first time Del Monte's canned goods have been fingered for high BPA counts. More than 2,700 Change.org members have signed our petition urging Del Monte Foods to move to BPA-free packaging. BPA lurks in the can lining of the veggies and ends up in the food contained within. While federal regulators fail to limit the chemical's use, numerous studies link BPA with health problems, so it's important for companies to start moving away from food packaging containing the hormone-disruptor.

The time to debate the deleterious and never-ending possible health effects of BPA is over. According to a separate L.A. Times article, a draft report issued this year by the government's National Toxicology Program said that there was "some concern" that the chemical could be a health risk to fetuses, babies, and kids.  Canada has actually designated BPA as a toxic substance. It seems that this would be an opportune time to be better safe than sorry.

There are BPA-free alternatives out there that are being pursued by responsible companies. We need to demand safety from the people that provide us with food products. Sign our petition asking Del Monte to switch to BPA-free food packaging.

Photo credit: Bludgeoner86 via Flickr

Jessica Belsky is a freelance writer and communications manager at an environmental non-profit.

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