Skip the BPA: Food Packaging Update

For all those devoted bisphenol A (BPA) followers out there, here’s some food packaging news for you to chew on. Early in July, Heinz Australia announced that they were in the process of phasing out BPA in its baby food packaging that used BPA - not all baby food packaging did. This suggests that Heinz’s removal of BPA from their baby food packaging continues to move forward. Seeking Safer Packaging, a report Environmental Defence co-released in 2009, identified Heinz as the only surveyed company currently using an alternative to BPA in some of its can linings, and as phasing out BPA in its baby food can lacquers. A total of 20 companies were surveyed for this report.

Since the time of report release, it has also been announced that Muir Glen, a subsidiary of General Mills, will be switching to metal can packaging that does not contain BPA. To expand, a GreenBiz article suggests that Muir Glen tomato products harvested this summer will be packaged in BPA-free cans. And should you be interested, here are some more companies that BPA-free packaging for some or all of their products: Eden Foods, Edward & Sons, Wild Planet, Eco Fish, and Oregon's Choice.