Toxic Chemical BPA Found in Child-Targeted Canned Foods

Padangekspres.net-The new villain lurking on our pantry shelves just may be canned foods, including those we are feeding our children.

While plastic products have often been the focus of toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA), that threat has all but been eliminated in the United States. The new villain lurking on our pantry shelves just may be canned foods, even those we are feeding our children.
BPA is classified as an endocrine disruptor and can imitate the hormone estrogen and acts as an anti-androgen. It can be most harmful in developing fetuses, newborns and young children.
Research has shown the link between the exposure of BPA and the increased risks of diabetes and heart disease, as well as found an association between the exposure to BPA and being obese. Sadly, BPA can be found in the urine of 90 percent of newborns, making them most at risk.

A new study by the Breast Cancer Fund—a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying and eliminating environmental links to breast cancer—tested six child-targeted canned products for traces of BPA. Manufacturers typically use a lining containing BPA in metal cans to help protect against food-borne illnesses.
Connie Engel, science education coordinator at the Breast Cancer Fund, said that the focus was on canned products “specifically marketed to kids: either ones with pictures of favorite cartoon characters or labels that said something about kids….. The levels [of BPA] we found in these canned foods were a little higher than those previously found in baby bottles and water bottles.”
The products tested:

• Annie's Homegrown Cheesy Ravioli
• Campbell's Disney Princess Cool Shapes, Shaped Pasta with Chicken in Chicken Broth
• Campbell's Spaghettios with Meatballs
• Campbell's Toy Story Fun Shapes, Shaped Pasta with Chicken in Chicken Broth
• Chef Boyardee Whole Grain Pasta, Mini ABC's & 123's with Meatballs
• Earth's Best Organic Elmo Noodlemania Soup

According to the report, while a child-sized serving of these foods may result in BPA exposure at a level of concern, the repeated servings of canned soups, pastas, vegetables, fruits that a child eats in a week, in a year, and throughout the developing years, are of concern.