Safe Food Storage Containers

We know to monitor food recalls to avoid contaminated food, but what if the packaging around food is the source of contamination? Increasingly, research is pointing out that chemicals from food packaging can leach into foods. What, if any, health risk comes from consuming food with traces of these chemicals? It's hard to say definitively, since the chemicals being identified are generally approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration, even as independent research continues to raise concerns. Compounding the confusion is the nature of the chemicals themselves: We're familiar with poisons that are more dangerous in higher doses, but some of these chemicals are so chemically similar to human hormones that they have health effects at minute levels.

That's the case with canned foods and beverages. The lining in cans, which prevents rust and preserves freshness, is typically made with a resin that includes chemicals known as phthalates and Bisphenol A. BPA, as it is known, mimics estrogen, while some phthalates mimic male hormones; while the FDA approves of their use and the food and chemical industries vigorously stands by their safety, concerns have grown acute enough that several states, retailers and manufacturers have discontinued their use in baby and children's products out of concern over health effects.

Repeated tests by consumer watchdogs have found canned foods laced with these chemicals. A recent analysis found that families can reduce their exposure to the two chemicals by more than 50% simply by steering clear of canned foods, like soups, tuna and beans. Canned foods are an important part of emergency preparedness, though, so you'll probably want to keep some on hand just in case. Eden Organic and Wild Planet are two companies known for using BPA-free cans.