WISE CONSUMER CONTINUED
n Be Aware Food Can Linings Leach Estrogens -
from Environmental Health Perspectives 103, no.6 (1995)
We present data showing that some foods preserved in lacquer-coated
cans and the liquid in them may acquire estrogenic activity. Hormonal
activity was measured using the E-screen bioassay. The biological
activity of vegetables packed in cans was a result of plastic monomers
used in manufacturing the containers. The plastic monomer bisphenol-A,
identified by mass spectrometry, was found as a contaminant not only
in the liquid of the preserved vegetables but also in water autoclaved
in the cans. The amount of bisphenol-A in the extracts accounted for
all the hormonal activity measured. Although the presence of other
xenoestrogens cannot be ruled out, it is apparent that all estrogenic
activity in these cans was due to bisphenol-A leached from the lacquer
coating. The use of plastic in food-packaging materials may require
closer scrutiny to determine whether epoxy resins and polycarbonates
contribute to human exposure to xenoestrogens.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1519121
There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small
doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people,
especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood
when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic effects
of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases
completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to pesticides
whenever possible.