Microplastics in canned food - do some canned foods have safer linings than others?

[AlexKChen]

When they replaced BPA, some manufacturers turned to more problematic chemicals, like PVC-based linings.

365 and dole foods asparagus may have BPA-free linings, but their linings seem very… plasticy and sketch just from inspection…

But Amy’s cans and Westbrae lentil cans don’t seem as “problematic/sketch” just on inspection (same with Eden Foods, which took a noticeably longer-than-usual amount of time to replace its BPA)

Stronger linings often have to be made for highly acidic foods like tomatoes… (this was why it was so hard to replace the BPA in Muir Glen tomatoes!)

The “can linings” seem to be composed of resins, which have noticeably different chemical compositions than LDPE/HDPE/PETE. This may be better or it may be worse, I don’t know.

I know plasticlist tested canned foods from many decades ago (canned foods were developed and mass-produced well before plastics became super-prevalent), so this should be very fixable [and my knowing this also makes me inclined to choose canned foods over plastic, even though some plastics scientists are on record for saying they now avoid canned foods]

Some companies may be better inclined towards transparency if you contact them - anything that seems more eco-conscious is probably more trustworthy, but few seem inclined to reveal their actual ingredients b/c “trade secrets” or w/e

EDEN FOODS is best

After two years of persistent work with can manufacturers we acquired a BPA free can. From April of 1999 up until late 2016, EDEN Beans featured a custom-made can lined with a 1960’s vintage oleoresin c-enamel that did not contain the toxin BPA. Oleoresin is a mixture of oil and plant resin extracted from pine or balsam fir trees. In 2017, Eden Foods transitioned to an improved, non-toxic, can lining that works for both low (beans) and high acid (tomato) food items.

https://archive.ph/wip/s4A0f

[AlexKChen]

The can companies didn’t have to disclose what chemicals they were using as long as they claimed it was a trade secret.

“I was flabbergasted that legally, it was none of my business. I had no right to know, as a consumer, a food manufacturer, a parent or grandparent.” Two of his can suppliers (whom he declined to name) gave Potter “half information and half answers.”

One can supplier, Ball Corp.

, “ascertained that I wasn’t going to go away. They weren’t going to disclose specifically what was in the linings of their cans, but they did help me understand the heavy chemistry that goes on to make the linings and how that process leads to bisphenol A.”

Asking the “high-school” question: What did you use before?

So Potter asked what he describes as the “high-school question.” What did Ball Corp. use before the days of the formulation that results in bisphenol A leaching into canned food? “They told me they used an enamel made from vegetable resins. So I asked: Can I get my cans with that on it, please?”

The answer was yes, if Eden Foods paid 14 percent more for the BPA-free cans. “That’s hundred of thousands of dollars a year for us,” which is a big deal for a small company in the very competitive food business.

He felt he had no choice

Potter felt he had no choice but to switch to BPA-free cans. “It was the right thing to do. I didn’t want BPA in food I was serving to my kids, my grandkids or my customers.” Eden Foods didn’t promote its switch to BPA-free cans 10 years ago. “At the time, consumers hadn’t heard about bisphenol A. The name itself was like Swahili.”

But with growing awareness about BPA’s laboratory links to recent trends in human diseases - a chilling list including breast and prostate cancers, increases in urogenital abnormalities in male babies, a decline in semen quality in men, early onset of puberty in girls, metabolic disorders including Type 2 diabetes and obesity, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder - Eden Foods recently began labeling its bean cans “BPA-free.”

For the moment, Eden Foods tomato products are packaged in industry-standard BPA-containing cans. “The FDA hasn’t approved any other type of processing for highly acidic foods,” Potter said.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

But Potter, who is also involved in the Non-GMO Project, is convinced that “modern industrial chemists can solve this problem” - especially if consumers demand it. “It’s not fun dealing with this stuff,” said Potter. “But where there’s a will there’s a way.”

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As recently as 1 year ago, Muir Glen used a BPA-containing, white plastic inner lining for all of their canned tomato products. However, Muir Glen now uses a shiny metallic copper inner lining for all of their canned tomato products. When I emailed Muir Glen to tell them that “like iron, manganese, and aluminum, copper is a pro-oxidant that damages every cell in our bodies and causes cancer, heart disease, and a dozen other killer diseases,” Muir Glen replied that their inner can lining is now vinyl plastic, which coats the copper metal. Therefore, there is no threat to our health from the copper metal. I then pointed out to Muir Glen that about 20% of vinyl plastic contains cancer-causing nitrosamines. see less

Ronald M. Chavin
· June 13, 2013

[AlexKChen]

Aside from BPA, four major coating types were identified among the 192 cans tested: acrylic resins, oleoresin,
polyester resins, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) copolymers. There were multiple formulations of these
compounds found, but no way to determine the specific chemicals used or how they are produced.
 18 percent of retailers’ private-label foods and 36 percent of national brands were lined with a PVC-based
copolymer that is made from highly hazardous chemicals including vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen.
PVC is considered a regrettable substitute.
 33 percent of retailers’ private-label foods and 51 percent of national brands were lined with acrylic based
polymers. Of the cans tested, 39 percent had a polystyrene-acrylic combination, of concern because styrene is
considered a possible carcinogen.
 Much more research is needed to determine the safety of these compounds, and what may be migrating from
the “alternative” can linings into food.