BPA found in soda cans

That the synthetic sex hormone BPA can be found in baby bottles and some water bottles is well known. State and federal legislation, actions by state attorneys general, and market forces have been engaged in the effort to get BPA out of baby bottles.  But soda cans have escaped similar scrutiny.  Until now.  Tests performed by Health Canada, a government agency, confirmed BPA is found in soda cans, according to a report in the Globe and Mail.

BPA is found in the lining of soda cans, which keep soda from coming in contact with metal; infant formula cans and most food cans are lined with BPA as well.  Nineteen states have pending legislation to regulate BPA.

California, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Washington State are states where BPA bills have been introduced.

The Canadian study found the highest levels of BPA was found in energy drinks, but BPA was also present in other types of sodas. Ninety-six percent of  the sodas tested were found to have BPA at levels below the regulatory limit.

Yet recent studies show that BPA at low doses -- levels under the regulatory limit --  may cause harm. And hundreds of scientific studies have linked BPA to health problems ranging from heart disease to breast cancer to infertility.

The Globe and Mail reported that scientists are worried about ingestion of minute amounts of BPA leaching from food and beverage containers because the chemical is a synthetic sex hormone, "able to fool cells into viewing it as estrogen, providing what amounts to an extra dollop of the female hormone."

The reporter gave the final word to SaferStates colleagues at Environmental Defence in Canada:

Nor is it clear why, overall, the highest BPA levels were found in energy drinks, but the results might be a surprise to some of the consumers of these products. "It would be interesting to do a survey in the weight rooms to see how many tough guys are aware of the estrogen levels in their drinks," said Aaron Freeman, a spokesman for Environmental Defence, a group that is lobbying Health Canada to eliminate BPA from food and beverage packaging.