Leading Packaged Food Companies Continue to Use BPA Chemical

April 30, 2009

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Fourteen of the largest public packaged food and beverage companies still use chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in their packaging despite studies linking the synthetic sex hormone to developmental problems, heart disease and diabetes, according to a new report from Green Century Capital Management (Green Century) and As You Sow.

BPA is used in can linings and some hard clear plastic containers and is known to leach from packaging into food and beverages, says Green Century, an environmentally responsible investment advisory firm and manager of the Green Century Funds. In March, rising consumer concern about BPA led the six largest baby bottle manufacturers to announce that they would phase out BPA from all bottles sold in the U.S.

The new report, Seeking Safer Packaging, reviews how leading packaged food companies are responding to increased consumer and investor concern about BPA. The study finds that of the fourteen companies that responded to the survey, all but four had failed to develop safer alternatives, and only one company — Heinz — had begun using a substitute. The scorecard awarded top scores to Hain Celestial, Heinz, and Nestle.

The other companies contacted for the study were Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, Chiquita, Dean Foods, Del Monte, General Mills, Hershey, Hormel, J.M. Smucker, Kellogg, Kraft, McCormick, PepsiCo, Sara Lee, Sysco, and Unilever.

Click here for the full report.