Campbell's to Phase out BPA in Cans

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical that has been used in the lining of canned foods for many years. It is even found in soda cans. The BPA industry and its supporters will tell you that this chemical poses no health risks to humans, but more and more studies are showing otherwise. Laboratory studies have linked BPA to breast and prostate cancer, infertility, early puberty in girls, type-2 diabetes, obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Earlier this week, thanks to pressure from advocacy groups like Healthy Child Healthy World, Campbell's announced that it will start phasing out its use of BPA in its cans. A study by the Breast Cancer Fund found that Campbell's products for children like Spaghetti-O’s has some of the highest BPA levels.  Although they have not released any timeline of when the phase out will be complete or what they plan on using to replace BPA, this is a huge step. To get such a large company to make a change is sure to send a message to other food manufacturers. And while I don't buy any Campbell's products myself (many of their soups have MSG and artificial ingredients) I do think this is great news.

Meanwhile in France, lawmakers voted to uphold a ban on BPA in all food. One can only hope that other countries in Europe will follow suit and ultimately get an European Union wide ban on BPA. Maybe once all the other countries in the world acknowledge that this stuff is dangerous and ban it from their foods, the United States government and our FDA will finally wake up and get this toxic junk out of our food as well.

It will definitely be interesting to see how this all plays out and if it will have a snowball affect in the industry. Parents like myself are sure to be following intently with our fingers crossed. Could this be the beginning of the end for BPA? I sure hope so.

What do you think? Will we see a nationwide ban of Bisphenol A in the United States any time soon?