Report: BPA in Thanksgiving Canned Food
An unwelcome visitor may be joining your Thanksgiving feast: bisphenol A. BPA is an estrogenic chemical that lab studies have linked to breast cancer.
The Breast Cancer Fund wanted to know how much BPA may be in a typical Thanksgiving meal, so we tested canned foods used to make popular Thanksgiving dishes:
• Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Campbell's Turkey Gravy
• Carnation Evaporated Milk (by Nestle)
• Del Monte Fresh Cut Sweet Corn, Cream Style
• Green Giant Cut Green Beans (by General Mills)
• Libby's Pumpkin (by Nestle)
• Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
For half of the products tested, a single 120-gram serving of the food contains enough BPA to show adverse health impacts in lab studies. Have some pumpkin pie after your green bean casserole and gravy, and the amount of BPA delivered to each holiday diner adds up to a concerning chemical dose.
BPA levels in the canned foods we tested were all over the map, even among cans of the same product made by the same company. No BPA was detected by our tests in Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce, although the company has stated that it does use BPA in its cans.
If you're cooking this Thanksgiving, seek alternatives to canned foods (we offer some here). Beyond the holiday season, we need to get this toxic chemical out of all food packaging and make sure replacements are safe. That's the goal of the Breast Cancer Fund's Cans Not Cancer campaign.
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BPA in Thanksgiving Canned Food (Report PDF)
Read, save, print and share the full report.
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BPA in Thanksgiving Canned Food: Results
View all products tested and the levels of BPA found in each.
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Recipes for a No-Can Thanksgiving
To avoid BPA, try these can-free versions of holiday classics.
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Cans Not Cancer
Learn about our market campaign to get BPA out of canned food, policy solutions and the facts about BPA.
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BPA Myths and Facts
For the record, we answer some common misconceptions for our BPA in Thanksgiving Canned Food report.
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Press Release
Thanksgiving may mean a significant dose of BPA for families using canned foods (11/15/2011).
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Thanks for visiting our BPA in Thanksgiving Canned Food report!
Join our efforts to get BPA out of canned food! Sign up for our email list below and we'll keep you in the know about new product testing, research and company responses to our Cans Not Cancer campaign.
Thank you to our partners for their contributions to this report:
Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow A broad coalition in Massachusetts working to pass laws and policies that prevent harm to our health from toxic chemicals.
Clean and Healthy New York An organization dedicated to empowering New York's women to achieve environmental health and justice.
Clean Water Action, Massachusetts A one-million member organization of diverse people and groups joined together to protect our environment, health, economic well-being and community quality of life.
Healthy Legacy Coalition Healthy Legacy promotes healthy lives by supporting the production and use of everyday products without toxic chemicals.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy IATP works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.
Just Green Partnership A broad coalition focused on transforming the laws that govern how chemicals are regulated and or marketed in the State of New York.
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