In a shift of position, the U.S. FDA is expressing concerns about possible health risks from bisphenol A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging, including the lining of metal cans. (Even the canned goods that we carry, with the exception of one brand, Eden Foods.)

This after the agency declared BPA safe in 2008.

But the FDA now has “some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.”

The action is another example of the drug agency becoming far more aggressive in taking hard looks at what it sees as threats to public health over the past year. In recent months, the agency has stepped up its oversight of food safety and has promised to tighten approval standards for medical devices.

Concerns about BPA are based on studies that have found harmful effects in animals, and on the recognition that the chemical seeps into food and baby formula. Nearly everyone is exposed to BPA, starting in the womb.

This is good news, because hopefully this means they will soon make the connection to BPA contaminating canned foods and force manufacturers to retool their canning methods and remove the noxious substance from their can linings, as Eden Foods has already done.

From the Eden website: “All 33 Eden Organic Beans including Chili, Rice & Beans, Refried, and Flavored, are cooked in steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel that does not contain the endocrine disrupter chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA). Oleoresin is a non-toxic mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir. These cans cost 14% more than the industry standard cans that do contain BPA. The Ball Corporation tells us that Eden is the only U.S. food maker to date to use these BPA free cans and we have been since April 1999.”

Way to go, Eden! Why is it taking other manufacturers so long to do the right thing like Eden has been doing for 10 years? How rare it is to find a company that puts things like integrity and health before profits. It’s our intention to find and sell only the best products available according to our strict purchasing policy, and we hope that other companies will adopt Eden’s model as soon as possible.

If you are concerned about the BPA in canned products, we also carry many alternatives including foods canned in glass jars and frozen packaged items.

You can find more information about BPA and safer alternatives at www.bisphenolafree.org