LOBLAWS...

Some of you might have seen my post in regards wanting to get an answer from Loblaws and BPA in some of there products this is the answer I got...

"Dear Ms. Wiseman,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.

At Loblaw Companies Limited, food quality and safety have always been top priorities for us, and we maintain the highest ethical and safety standards for our products - whether they are sourced here at home, or internationally.  We would like to assure you that products sold in our stores adhere strictly to all safety and sourcing requirements as per government regulations and that we are dedicated to upholding your trust in our products and our stores. 

The health and safety of our customers is paramount to us we recognize the growing concern surrounding BPA. We are working with our vendors to reduce BPA in our product packaging wherever possible.  Please be assured that we will also continue to work closely with all relevant government agencies to ensure we are offering our customers only the best in food quality and safety.

Thank you once again for your email.  Please continue to share your feedback with us as it is one of the best ways for us to improve."

And this is what I answered back...

"Dear Ms. Weiss,

Thank you for taking time to answer my questions, however I am not satisfied with this answer.  I am in no doubt that all your products meet canadian government regulation; however it is my responsibility as a mother to ensure I feel all food consumed by my child meet my standards.  We used to buy Eden Organic beans not because they are organic but because they are bpa free.  Loblaws has now stopped  carrying this product and I am trying to find a replacement product I can purchase from my grocery store.  We do not but any products that come in packaging that contains bpa.  I have contacted some of the major brands you carry but was also curious to see if your own store brands contained bpa in the packaging.  

Please answer my question does your canned beans such as kidney beans, chickpeas, black beans and other contain bpa in the packaging.

thank you"

Lets see what happens now.

NO NAME BEANS DO THEY CONTAIN BPA?

As some of you are aware I am slowly switching to consuming more no-organic foods in order to save cost, we are still trying to eat locally and I do avoid foods from countries that are know to use a lot pesticides. That being said I continued buying organic canned beans because Eden is the only company I was aware of that made BPA free beans.  Most of you are very aware that I stay away from BPA and pretty much never compromise on that one. The epoxy liner in the Eden cans are clear most other manufacturers use a white liner that contains BPA, I am not saying that clear = BPA free, just that I noticed Eden's liners are clear and almost everyone else has white liners.

This week since time was a crunch and I needed beans I said f#%* it I am buying the cheapest beans I can find at Loblaws because I don't have time to make a second trip to the Big Carrot or cook them from dried.  To my surprise when I opened my No Name brand canned romano beans the liner was clear; this got me thinking I wonder if they are BPA free...

I decided to send this email to Loblaws lets see if and what answer I get:

"I am enquiring to find out what kind of epoxy liner is used in your No Name brand canned beans such as the black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans and so on.  I wanted to know if the tin can epoxy liner contained any BPA?  Thank you for your time in answering this question."

BPA Toxic Yes

OK we all know BPA is bad and toxic but just to re-enforce the point I though I would quote an article I was reading in INFACT Canada Newsletter Spring 2009. The article is based on a study done here in Onatario at the University of Guelph.

"BPA is also present in many plastics and the lining of food containers..."

"Len Ritters,.... executive director of the Canadian Network of Toxicology Centres, said "I would advise a pregnant woman to try to reduce or entirly eliminate her exposure to bisphenol A."

"The chemical has been linked to cancer, early onset of female sexual maturity, male fertility problems, and behavioural problems."

Toy Thursday - BPA

This week toxin is BPA.

Many of you already have swapped out all your plastic baby bottles for BPA free ones; but did you know many toys also contain BPA.

Lets first look at what is BPA. BPA is short for Bisphenol A; Bisphenol A is "a difunctional building block of several important polymers and polymer additives ... Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s."1

"More than 200 animal studies show that BPA is toxic at very low doses, while the Centers for Disease Control has found BPA in 95 percent of people tested at levels that raise health concerns. The peer—reviewed science suggests that BPA may be contributing to increases in many adverse health conditions in the human population including breast cancer, prostate cancer and insulin resistance."2

In Canada it's very hard to find a baby bottle made of BPA these days, but 1000's of toys that are made from plastics containing BPA line the shelves in our our toy stores. Most people think that you can only get BPA from food but that is not the case. "While most exposure is through diet, exposure can also occur through air and through skin absorption."1 And that would be whi I classify BPA toys as toxic.

Before you start betting yourself over for letting your child play with plastic, I will admit even Christophe has a few plastic toys, we have legos and this ball and tower thing that is made from plastic (they were both hand me downs); however the majority of his toys are BPA free.

How do you avoid BPA in toys:

1. Don't buy plastic toys
2. If you buy plastic make sure they are labeled BPA free
3. If no label exits, take the time to contact the manufacturer and ask them what kind of plastics are used in the manufacturing of the toy. You would be surprised how quick you are will get an answer.
4. Stay away from toys made from polycarbonate usually labeled as number 7.

BPA is not the only type of plastic that is toxic in future weeks we will look at phatale and PVC.

I think it is also worth mentioning other areas that you or your child can be exposed to BPA: Infant formula, canned food, fillings at the dentist, plastic dishes, glasses and cutlery, lunch boxes, water bottles, baby bottles, coffee mugs and bottles lined with plastic, food storage containers, and virtually anything made from plastic could be made from polycarbonate.

My recommendation from one mom to another is to avoid as much as possible BPA but if you can not afford to change everthing in your life the main items I would start with are: baby bottles, sippy cups, your childs dishes and bath toys.

If anyone needs ideas on BPA free items ask me I have tones of products I could recomend but that will be for another post.

1- Wikipidia
2- EWG

HealthyToys.org

I think it is absolutly sad that we need a website that helps parents navigate trew all the various azards that comes with choosing a toy for your child. When you are shopping of a toy for your child you should not have to think those this contain lead, cadmium, chlorine, arsenic, bromine or mercury? Those are the chemicals this site will inform you about. The site is still a work in progress therefore it does not have all toys however I was able to find many items Christphe has at home and was very please that the majority of his toys passed the test. However we had one with a red flag - his Whoozit Activity Spiral.

The only thing that would be great is if this site also talked about what toys have BPA, vinyl and Phthalate.

Water what should I drink?

With all the new studies about BPA and it's effect on children we decided to stop purchasing water jugs for our water cooler and start drinking tap water. We do filter the tap water with a Brita filter; however I now question my decision. Witch is safer BPA water or fluoride water.

According to an article on CBC:

"he panel does acknowledge that excess fluoride intake, which constitutes 10 mg/day after 10 or more years of exposure, can lead to skeletal fluorosis, which is caused by too much accumulation of fluoride in the bones and leads to brittle and deformed bones.

However, "the current maximum acceptable concentration of 1.5 mg/L of fluoride in drinking water is unlikely to cause adverse health effects," reads the report.

The report does caution however, that infants are particularly vulnerable if they ingest powdered infant formula reconstituted with fluoridated water. "The risk of excessive intake of fluoride is higher for infants consuming larger quantities of infant formulas," reads the report."

To read the full article go to the CBC site.

I still think tap water is better then bottle water how about you?

The hidden chemical in cans

Both Geoff and I have always been more pro-active then your typical household on chemicals and so on but it is great to see a major paper write about one of the concerns we have had for a while now.

Many people who have been getting rid of their plastic cups and baby bottles do not realize that BPA hides in many other products including canned goods.

Check out this great article from the Globe and Mail for more information.

Now only if we could find a source of tomatoes in a glass jar. Canned tomatoes is really the only product that we would miss.