http://www.utne.com/Environment/Home-Ca ... -5673.aspx

It’s home canning season, and by some indications a lot more Americans are joining in on the pickle-packing fun. If you’re one of them, you ought to know that your plastic-lined canning lids probably contain bisphenol A, the endocrine-disrupting chemical that’s been suspected in a host of health problems and is under intensive scrutiny by the slow-moving FDA.

“Canning jar lids from the brands Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin are coated with bisphenol A,” writes Organic Gardening magazine in its Winter 2009-2010 issue.

The magazine asks an endocrine-disruptor expert about the potential health hazards. “If the lid doesn’t contact the food, it’s not a problem,” says Frederick vom Saal, a biological sciences professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. But that’s unlikely to be the case, so he recommends using a BPA-free product. Organic Gardening suggests Weck brand canning jars, which have glass lids.

It’s too bad that the legions of Americans who are growing and preserving their own produce—often because they’re trying to avoid the mega-food system and eat locally and heathily—have to deal with yet another potential toxin in their diet. And while I don’t know how serious the canning-jar-lid threat is, I agree with Treehugger that Jarden Home Brands, the manufacturer of all four BPA-containing brands mentioned above, is not exactly setting a high ethical standard with its website FAQ statement falling back on highly questionable FDA studies. “Weasely words,” Treehugger calls them.

The FDA, as Utne Reader reported in August, expects to rule by November 30 on whether BPA is safe for food and beverage containers.

It’s enough work learning how to blanch and shock our vegetables and avoid the dreaded botulism. Shouldn’t we at least be able to declare our canning jars poison-free with confidence?

Sources: Reuters, Houston Chronicle, Organic Gardening, Mother Earth News, Treehugger, Jarden Home Brands

UPDATE 10/26/09: Lloyd Alter at Treehugger, who wrote about this issue in July, is conducting a test to compare BPA levels in two jars of home-canned pickles: one that's been sloshing around in the trunk of his car and another that's been kept upright. We’ll follow the results here on Utne.com.

Bastards...

Well for crying out loud! This makes me MAD! Of course the food touches the lid during processing, duh. Oh, so glad I spent all weekend canning up split pea soup. I'm trying to homecan all of our soups because of this lining in the commercially canned foods, now I find it's on my canning lids?!? Wait, I bought a several gross of generic lids 2 years ago, I'm gonna go check them . . .

Hey, they are clear as are my older Kerr lids that I bought a few years back. So, the only coated lids I've used are from the new jars I bought this year. I was noticing they were coated but didn't think much of it. Okay, I only bought 6 dozen new jars this year so that reduces my risk somewhat. Hopefully they will correct this before next season. In the meantime, I'll just toss the new lids and use my older uncoated ones.

But I agree with Elderberry, BASTARDS!

went down to the basement and check, all mine are coated. BUMMER!

Don't freak out, tiny amounts of BPA are not going to harm anyone.
Hopefully you don't store canning jars with the contents touching the lid anyway
All plastics have some of this in them, they are what makes plastic flexible. The EU has banned them in food containers, so that has brought attention in the states, who will soon do the same.
There are other chemicals they can substitute which will be more expensive.
Same stuff is in the lining of regular steel food cans.
Be more concerned about plastic baby bottles and nipples.
Also food should never be reheated in plastic, as high temperatures liberates more BPA
I think I would be more concerned about estrogen in the water supply from birth control pills and Hormone replacement therapy. As a matter of fact, iit is now proven that Hormone Replacement Therapy causes hundreds of cases of cervical and breast cancer per year.

We worked around the edges of this problem, in an earlier topic here

canned-foods-poison-t1771.html


Muad'dib wrote:
Eat your soup in peace, don't freak out this is the least of your problems.
I would be much more worried about High Fructose Corn Syrup, etc
This mat'l will be removed in due time,
All plastics have or leach objectional chemicals into your food.
period.
These chemicals are much more dangerous in baby bottles, nipples, and food microwaved in plastic.
1. reheat all foods in glass or stainless steel
Assure a clean water supply.
Most city water systems have bad levels of anti- depressants and female hormones from
birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy.

As a matter of fact be really concerned if you are Taking Hormone replacement therapy, it causes thousands of cases of breast and uterine cancer per year.
These chemicals also cause early puberty in females, lactating young boys, and mens breast cancer
More later

I find it interesting that it has come full circle in canning. Back to the glass tops again. I have been collecting these glass tops for some time now along with buying the rubber bands to go with them.