In an article published on July 31, 2015 by the news provider Food Production Daily, journalist Jenny Eagle reports on food company ConAgra Foods that has removed bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7) from its cans sold in the U.S. and Canada. ConAgra’s canned foods packaged in U.S. and Canadian facilities will use cans with non-BPA liners starting July 30, 2015, Eagle writes. For its foreign imports, the company is working with the suppliers to transition to non-BPA liners by early 2016. ConAgra is confident in the safety of BPA can-coatings, but has decided to remove it from the canned food portfolio based on consumer demand, says Wes Wasson, senior director Packaging Technology and Cost Optimization at ConAgra. The company is also confident in the non-BPA coatings that it now commercializes, Wasson states. Jane Muncke, managing director at the Food Packaging Forum, expresses concern over the safety of BPA-replacements, including endocrine disruption of the monomers and reaction by-products. Some coatings are made with alternatives such as bisphenol S (BPS, CAS 80-09-1) and bisphenol F (BPF, CAS 620-92-8) that are toxicologically similar to BPA and there are still many open questions regarding BPA-replacements, according to Muncke. Michael Warhurst, executive director at CHEM Trust, agrees and says it is a crucial question whether companies are replacing BPA with similar chemicals such as BPS and BPF. CHEM Trust welcomes ConAgra’s decision to move away from BPA, but EU regulators and other companies should push to remove BPA from all food packaging, Warhurst further states.
Read more
Jenny Eagle (July 31, 2015). “ConAgra Foods removes BPA from all its US and Canada cans but critics ask if the alternative will be ‘safe’.” Food Production Daily
ConAgra Foods (July 30, 2015). “ConAgra Foods removes BPA from cans across portfolio.”
Cole Epley (July 31, 2015). “ConAgra bows to calls for stripping feared chemical from food cans.” Omaha.com
Institute of Food Technologists (July 31, 2015). “ConAgra Foods removes BPA from cans across portfolio.”
Carolyn Heneghan (July 30, 2015). “ConAgra cans go BPA-free.” Food Dive
Rochester, J. R. and Bolden, A. L. (2015). “Bisphenol S and F: A systematic review and comparison of the hormonal activity of bisphenol A substitutes.” Environmental Health Perspectives 123:643-650.
