Bisphenol A, Plastic Bottles, Poisoning Ourselves Each Hike?

[Valerie E]

I got a bit of a chuckle over the Cupow concept — using a glass jar because plastic is too risky, but then putting a plastic sippy-cup top and a plastic straw on the glass jar, and drinking through the plastic… Yeah, yeah, Cupow is BPA free, but so are most of the newer plastic drinking bottles.

Maybe I'm missing the logic here, but it seems odd…

[Glenn S]

"then putting a plastic sippy-cup top and a plastic straw"

And heating and filtering water through an entirely plastic Mr. Coffee. It's a good thing they have plastic spatulas though, so I can cut down on my teflon intake.

I wonder what wearing pop bottles does? Patagonias post consumer recycled pop bottle fleece for example. I guess it's hip to wear it after drinking the liquid that was in it. Drinking the original liquid must be ok, because it has magical properties that prevent any leeching while it sits in a warehouse and on a store shelf for months. Just don't fill them up with water from home because it's not magically imbued… Isn't that the sell?

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Yeesh, didn't you all know that mason jars are soooo hip? ;-) Get some paper straws and you are nearly there!

I kid you not that this post is a perennial favorite of readers:
http://www.gazingin.com/2012/10/18/diy-adult-sippy-lid-for-mason-jars/

Ball and Kerr lids are BPA free btw ;-)

Anyhow, yes the Cuppow is dorky but you don't spill yer hooch all over you…lol.

[Valerie E]

OMG Sarah — yours is a WAY better product! Cuppow should have done something similar – they really missed the boat.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

It's funny – my husband uses the DIY one every day. And no more did I have to clean up "Oops….I knocked over my glass" after that ;-)

[Tim Zen]

@SK — I am thinking about wrapping a ball jar in some hemp macrame and use a bamboo straw and cork for a stopper. How did my grandparents get through the world without plastic?

[David Gardner]

I won't opine on the subject of whether BPA is safe to consume or not. My approach is simply to remove the lining, and then it is a non-issue.

The BPA in beer and soda cans can be removed by annealing the cans with the self-cleaning cycle of an oven. Whatever doesn't just burn off, or come off the first time you boil with the can to remove the burnt plastic lining, can easily be removed with steel wool.

If we used cans only once to consume the contents, the way most people use recyclable water bottles, exposure is probably minimal. But heating a can repeatedly breaks down the lining and it goes into the water and food being heated. Once the lining breaks down it can easily be scratched off by an eating implement and get into your food, and sometimes flakes off all by itself and into your water or food.

Here is a can that has been through hundreds of test boils, and the flaking plastic lining can be clearly seen:

I personally would not consume water or food from such a can. My personal preference is to not cook in plastic or eat plastic.

On the other hand, heating acidic foods in an unlined can may leach some aluminum into the food. And then we get into the whole question of whether that is safe or not. But the simple answer for that is not to cook acidic foods in unlined cans.

Boiling water in an unlined can and then "cooking" in a plastic vessel like a Ziploc 1 quart or in a freezer bag may be the answer, as Sarah Kirkonell rightly states below, neither of those contain BPA.

[edited to include photograph and to acknowledge Sarah Kirkonell's comment]

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Actually…freezer bags do NOT contain BPA. Remember, BPS is a hardener. Bags do not and have never contained it. The flexible Ziploc and similar containers do not either.

[David Gardner]

I did a google search for the question: "Is there BPA in freezer bags"

According to http://nutrition.about.com/od/ahealthykitchen/tp/bpa-free.htm:

"Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound found in some plastic products like…plastic storage bags and containers, and in the linings of aluminum cans."

According to http://greenhouseneutralfoundation.org:

"Bisphenol A chemical commonly found in canned soup and food storage plastics is also used in some plastic wrap and plastic sandwich bags."

I do note the word "some" and not "all." And no specific reference to freezer bags.

According to Ziploc's web site "SC Johnson does not use BPA in its plastic products, Ziploc® brand Bags and Containers." Presumably this would include Ziploc brand freezer bags. Saran is another SC Johnson brand, so they would not either. Glad's FAQ page also says there is no BPA in its food containers, wraps, storage bags and other food contact products.

I stand corrected on this point as to these brands, at least. Not 100% certain about other brands, since it would appear that "some" brands do have BPA in their "plastic storage bags" and sandwich bags.

Thank you for catching my mistake, and I apologize for not doing better research before posting.

So a good way to minimize BPA exposure when using a Fosters can for cooking on the trail would be to boil water in an annealed can and then "cook" in an insulated plastic container or freezer bag of the referenced brands.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

It is one reason I buy US made products to say the least – and not off brands.

[Glenn S]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15712526

Excerpts:

problems of heterogeneity between samples was overcome by determining the amount of BPA in food as well as in the can lining. It was found that 80-100% of the total BPA present in the coating had migrated to foods directly after can processing by pilot plant filling with food or simulant, sealing and sterilization. This level was not changed by extended storage (up to 9 months)

Food cans were purchased and the food either cooked or heated in the can. BPA was analysed prior to and after the heating/cooking process. It was concluded from the results that there were no appreciable differences in the BPA level before and after cooking or heating.

The beer in a Fosters can is not only nasty tasting, but also seems to contain more BPA than you'll ever get from boiling some water in it (as long as the waterline is above the windscreen IMO). Dumping it down the drain works for me. BPA has been in can liners for 50 years and without it there would be no canned foods (in cans).

I'd classify the whole thing as an "emotional concern".

Edit: Of course material flaking from physical damage is a different story, much like a scratched up teflon pan.

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