Wednesday, January 12, 2011

BPA-Free Tomatoes

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There aren't many options when it comes to BPA-free canned foods, especially highly acid tomato products, so it's exciting that Eden Foods just introduced a BPA-free alternative for organic tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes! They are the only tomatoes in the U.S.A. packed in amber glass, protecting flavor and nutrients from light damage. Light causes discoloration and off-flavor through chemical change in food. Photo-oxidation (light damage) is systemic in food stores where fluorescent lighting, in particular, reduces food quality. Amber glass is difficult to get and more costly, but it best protects food. Amber glass is also free of the endocrine disrupter chemical bisphenol-A (BPA). In addition, Eden Organic Beans including Chili, Rice & Beans, Refried, and Flavored, are cooked in steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel that does not contain the endocrine disrupter chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA). Furthermore, the company is committed to GEO, GMO, and irradiation-free products!

Update:
My previous research has indicated that there aren't truly "BPA-free" lids for glass jars so I was curious. Here is Eden Foods response:
"We have exhaustively searched for an ideal lid for our glass jars. Unfortunately the truism 'there's no such thing as a perfect food package,' was again confirmed. Regardless, and in keeping with our mission, we identified the best there is.

The inside of the twist caps has two coats of sealer on it between the food and the metal of the cap. The first applied coating has BPA present in it. The second protective sealant does not, isolating the first coating from contact with the jar's contents.

The potential for migration of BPA is reduced by the following:

1. The additional protective vinyl base overcoat facing the food, isolating the epoxy, BPA containing coating. The coating
containing BPA can never be in contact with the food.
2. The cap's inner surface is separated from the food by an area of air/vacuum.
3. The surface area exposed to the food is substantially less for a twist cap than for canned goods.

Today's most stringent regulations for food product safety is in the European Union where these twist caps have been tested as safe as regards to BPA for use on food products. Currently, we are told, there is no known viable alternative to BPA based epoxy coatings that provides the same level of corrosion resistance and is as safe as our current systems. We continually push our cap suppliers to develop BPA free constructed caps that will deliver required corrosion resistance, shelf life, and safety."

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