After months of pressure from consumers and public health organizations led by the Breast Cancer Fund, Campbell’s Soup Company has announced plans to phase out use of the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in its can linings.
As the world’s largest canned soup producer, Campbell’s can play a major role in reducing exposure to BPA, both directly by removing BPA from its own food packaging, and by the example it sets within its industry. So the announcement is welcome news. However, the company did not provide a timeline or identify what alternative can-lining materials it will use.
To help convert Campbell’s vague promise to meaningful action—and safer food—tell Campbell’s to provide details on its implementation timeline and the BPA alternatives it plans to employ.
Exposure to BPA has been linked in lab studies to breast and prostate cancer, infertility, early puberty in girls, type-2 diabetes, obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Childhood exposure is of special concern because this endocrine-disrupting chemical can affect children’s hormonal systems during development and set the stage for later-life diseases.