HealthWatch: SF Group's Study Finds BPA In Canned Food For Kids

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) – A Bay Area study released Tuesday night raises new concerns about bisphenol-A (BPA) in foods marketed towards children.

From Campbell's "Disney Princess" and "Toy Story" soups, to Annie's certified organic Cheesy ravioli, a San Francisco lab tested 6 canned foods marketed to kids. They found a chemical not listed on the ingredient label, bisphenol-A.

The study was conducted by the Breast Cancer Fund.

"All six products came back positive for BPA," said the Breast Cancer Fund's Policy Manager Gretchen Lee Salter.

The nonprofit national breast cancer advocacy group wants food companies to seek what it calls safer alternatives.

"BPA in lab studies has been linked to increased risk for breast cancer prostate cancer early puberty," said Salter.

In response to the report, the Campbell soup company said that the safety and quality of its food products are its top priority, and that "according to the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence, the use of BPA in can linings poses no threat to human health."

For more than 40 years, the FDA has permitted the use of BPA in food packaging.

Even so, breast cancer researcher Dr. Bill Goodson of California Pacific Medical Center said the chemical is so prevalent in our bodies, that "We are a walking experiment."

Goodson said to be safe, the U.S. needs to take the chemical out of the food supply.

"If you want to avoid bisphenol-A for your children," said Goodson, "you're going to be eating organic food and you're going to be paying premium prices for everything. And that should not be the way it is."

The Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing BPA safety levels.

There are some inexpensive ways to reduce BPA exposure. They include dry pasta and jarred sauce, boxed macaroni and cheese, soups packed in tetra packs and fresh fruit.

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