Why plastic container and can food should be avoided? What is inside those food containers?

Statistic and Fact:

A statistic from Organic Consumers Association has shown that out of 97 can foods, more than 57 percent contained detectable and often high levels of BPA.

Consumers Union had found out, in year 2008, there were more than 22 billion cans produced for food and more than 100 billion cans produced for beer and soft drinks were with BPA.

The Center for Disease Control, CDC had conducted a urine sampling, according to the research, 93% of the population has BPA in their body.

A research done by the Harvard School of Public Health to study the levels of chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) in 75 volunteers who ate 12 ounces of soup each day for five days. One group ate fresh soup, while the other ate canned. BPA levels was then measured, result shown that eating canned soup on a daily basis raised urinary BPA levels by a whopping 1,221 percent.

Bisphenol A, BPA:

Bisphenol A (BPA), is an endocrine disruptor, a chemical substance that will affect the secretion and elimination of natural hormones, once the secretion and elimination of the hormone interferes, it will affect the action and function of the hormone. Bisphenol A (BPA) can also mimic body’s own hormones such as estrogen. Bisphenol A has a same functional group with estrogen.

Bisphenol A, BPA

Estrogen

Bisphenol A is a major by-product of the breakdown of epoxy resin and polycarbonate plastic. Epoxy resin often use to coat the inner lining of cans, to create a barrier between the can metal and the food. When the interaction between the polycarbonate chains added heat or acid, the bond will break and BPA was then releases.

  Structure of polycarbonate, PC

What kind of food container contain BPA?

-      

Canned food

    Canned drinks

Reusable water bottle

   Baby bottle

  Dental fillings and sealants

-   

                                                                                                                                                           

       Health effects:  

       Polycystic ovarian syndrome

       Fertility

       Obesity

       Cardiovascular disease

       Diabetes

       Thyroid function

       Disruption of dopaminergic system

       Tumor and cancer

        How to avoid BPA:

       Avoid can food and canned soda or drinks.

  
Especially for those foods that have lower pH, in other word, more acidic food such as tomatoes and fruits. BPA can easily release from the lining of the cans when temperature is high or in an acidic condition.
We can stick with fresh tomatoes and fruits, or the sort come in glass jar. Drink more water and tea also is a better way for our body beyond the harmful chemical BPA.

Fresh tomatos

 fruits

   

                       Learn about recycling codes, avoid number 3 and 7 plastic

   

Number 3 plastics have a high risk to release toxic breakdown products such as pthalates into food and drinks. When manufacturing number 3 plastics, a highly toxic dioxins can be release into the environment, and the materials can off-gas toxics plasticzers into our home.

Number 7 plastics is a wide range plastic resins that doesn’t fit into any other 6 categories of plastic. One of the number 7 plastic is the hard polycarbonate varieties that can leach Bisphenol A, BPA into our food and drinks.

          

    

 Use safe baby bottle and water bottle.

       

 Glass baby bottle without BPA

Water bottle without BPA.