Something to consider: plastic liners in canned foods.
Posted by Mushroom_Tip@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 47 comments
Given all the news about microplastics found in the human body it's a good reminder that a lot of canned foods have plastic liners.
First, never eat old canned food even if it smells okay unless you're sure there was no plastic liner. BPA is particularly dangerous and studies have found that the longer canned foods sit around, the more plastic they absorb. BPAs were largely used between the 1960s and 2009. And even today a small subsection of canned foods still use BPAs.
This is especially true for canned foods made before 2010. If you find a can from 2004 and it smells just fine, that doesn't mean it's not going to harm your body. It has leeched a lot of plastic from the liner into the food. It's better to throw it away than save a dollar.
The good news is that BPA has largely been eliminated in canned foods. The bad news is that we don't really know if the alternatives being used are completely safe. It's entirely possible that these plastic alternatives also leech plastics into foods over time.
Please rotate your canned foods regularly. Don't let them sit around for years. And don't listen to anyone here who says if it smells okay and the can isn't bulging out, it's good!
Stunning-Ear-9219@reddit
A lining is actually necessary to keep foods from interacting with the metal can. The point about bpas is totally valid and I really don't like the idea of my food coming into contact with plastic at all. There's no telling what they're going to tell us five or 10 years from now about what we're doing now has become unacceptable. Probably butylene pipe was touted to be a great thing until they found out about bpas. What will they find out next? On the other hand canned food is pretty damn important to a lot of us and the quality of it should be more transparent. I just opened this can of tomatoes packaged by Kroger. There are obvious signs of oxidation of the metal can the plastic is supposed to be protecting the food from. Have a look. The date on
this can was September 24th 2026!
less_butter@reddit
You have a source for this? According to the NIH, there were detectable levels of BHA in urine in 93% of people tested, back in 2004.
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/sya-bpa
If it's as dangerous as you claim, why are people still alive and healthy?
Obviously, it's a good idea to minimize exposure to BPA. But any possible effect the BPA from an old can liner would have on your system is insignificant compared to the issues you'll suffer from malnutrition and later, starvation.
You really need to put things in perspective. If you're hungry, things like microplastics and BPA are absolutely insignificant things to worry about.
EducationalEnd6988@reddit
girl autopsies have reported microplastics in our brain be so fr
Mushroom_Tip@reddit (OP)
Here is my source.
Nobody is claiming it's cyanide and a mere drop will kill you.
If you read the study it goes into why the actual minimum amount of BPA before you get serious adverse effects is well below what the FDA thought was safe.
smsff2@reddit
Bisphenol A has low toxicity. LD50 values ranges from 4000 to 5200 mg/kg. Average person will need to consume 368 grams to accumulate lethal dose and die with probability 50%. Examples of compounds, more poisonous than bisphenol A, include table salt and vitamin A. Caffeine is 33 times more deadly, than bisphenol A.
Ergo: eat food in the can, not the can itself. However, if you like to eat metal cans, you won't be able to consume enough to harm yourself in any significant way.
BPA concentration in canned fish is 26.3 ng/g. A person will need to consume 14 000 metric tons of canned fish in one setting in order to significantly harm himself with bisphenol A.
You cannot maintain sizable pantry, if you rotate food. I eat decade-old corned beef all the time. It's good.
References:
https://whs.rocklinusd.org/documents/Science/Lethal_Dose_Table.pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-53790-2
ptword@reddit
True, but the concern has nothing to do with toxicity. It's the fact that it is an endocrine disruptor highly prevalent in our environment.
smsff2@reddit
That's correct. However, other endocrine disruptors have LD50 very comparable, about 1 or 2 orders of magnitude above the normal metabolic levels. For example, an average person needs to take 25 capsules of testosterone to accumulate the lethal dose. I assume levels will be similar for BPA.
ptword@reddit
Well, LD50 is not a useful measure for endocrine disruption potential. It's not even a particularly useful measure for safety because many substances can induce very undesirable health effects at exposure levels far lower than the median lethal dose.
The concern with BPA is that, although it is a relatively weak endocrine disruptor, it is so prevalent in our environment that we are practically exposed to it on a persistent basis. No ones knows whether/how lifelong exposure to BPA affects human health. There is a real possibility that it (perhaps in conjunction with other environmental endocrine disruptors) may be modulating human health outcomes at the populational level.
EminTX@reddit
There are a lot of things that require massive quantities to be lethal but are still very uncomfortable to deal with in smaller doses. Wasp venom, for example. While it may not kill me, I want to prevent exposure as much as possible. Lecithin can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea so that might be an issue, too. BPA has no benefit to me at any dose so I'd like to avoid it.
smsff2@reddit
Wasp venom is not exactly a safe compound. Lethal dose varies from 1.6 to 4.1 mg/kg.
LD50 of lecithin is 8 g/kg. That's comparable to bisphenol A. If you are seriously recommending people to toss their cans, because they contain nanograms of BPA, I would seriously recommend you burn down your house, because there are trace amount of lecithin all over your place. You consumed lecithin in this house. You might have some salt or coffee in there. Those are dangerous things.
I'm not a biochemist. I guess manufacturers of canned foods can eliminate bisphenol A from their processes, if they think they have a safer alternative. Last time I checked, chemically active monomers is an inevitable stage in the manufacturing process of polymers. You can change things, adjust chemistry, and reduce toxicity a bit; you cannot change things a whole lot.
The statement "manufacturers should probably eliminate BPA" does not mean "toss all cans". That's a different statement.
If you apply the same logic to coffee, it seems absurd. Burning down your house, because you handled coffee inside, does not make any sense. Is not practical. Not that the coffee is exactly harmless. Coffee should be enjoyed with common sense and normal precautions in mind. Never come anywhere close to lethal dose. If you consume 3 liters of coffee a day, that's one third of a lethal dose, and it's probably too much.
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3810666/
EminTX@reddit
You have misconstrued what I have written. My point is that if I can avoid it, I will. You do what works for you and I will do what works for me. Isn't this how it's supposed to be?
Technical-Picture326@reddit
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Technical-Picture326@reddit
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BooshCrafter@reddit
Every time I see someone camping in military surplus putting a whole can of beans in the fire I wonder if they realize they're seasoning their beans with plastic.
Virtual-Dish95@reddit
Never cook in a can these days.
Professional-Bass501@reddit
Beans are literally cooked in the can before you buy them.
-zero-below-@reddit
I’m pretty sure that the factory temperature regulates it more closely than just putting it into a fire pit would. Different plastics will break down at different temps, and the place that cared enough to stick a plastic liner in there for shelf life reasons will likely ensure that they at least don’t entirely burn away the liner.
Professional-Bass501@reddit
Wouldn't the liquid of the beans keep the can liner around 100c though, similar to how you can cook soup in a plastic bag over a fire?
-zero-below-@reddit
Possibly, though the inner plastic lining will be sandwiched in between an extremely hot metal can and a more reasonably temperature set of beans. The metal probably transfers heat far faster than an air gap. I haven’t tried the soup in a bag thing, but I suspect it requires you to suspend the soup above the fire rather than touching hot coals.
Virtual-Dish95@reddit
Never reheat in a can these days
Uncle_Ned27@reddit
The only canned food I eat is canned beans🫘 - black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans etc - I rinse them all thoroughly before I eat them and therefore avoid most of the BPA contamination. Never eat canned tomato sauce or paste- the acids dissolve the plastic liner of the can - BPA stew!
BigJSunshine@reddit
Thank you!
Professional-Bass501@reddit
Terrible advice. Avoiding plastic contamination is a laugh when you're in a survival situation - starvation will kill you far quicker.
Spoonbill57@reddit
In a scenario where that canned food is all I have left, of course I'm going to eat it. Even if it has BPA but the can isn't damaged and the food smells decent.
Beggars can't be choosers in a SHTF situation.
Mushroom_Tip@reddit (OP)
I'm not arguing with you there, I'm just saying watch what you eat now and rotate regularly so if something does happen, you don't have a bunch of canned food that's already loaded with leeched plastic.
And I've noticed that people regularly ask if expired canned food is still good to eat and nobody brings up the fact that it could contain leeched plastic and to toss it and replace it instead.
And I'm sure you'll agree that it's best to be informed so that you can always weight the risks and decide for yourself at what time benefits outweigh the risks.
No_Character_5315@reddit
I never understood this about preppers the whole idea is to be prepared so why store expired food be as prepared as you can when the grid is up and store non expired food rotate the old stuff out.
Warburgerska@reddit
Sadly, cans are still lined in plastic and BPA free ones have been found to be even more endicrinologically active than BPA. There is no widely used plastic which does not cause it, even Pet fucks up your hormones from just existing with food inside. Add heat and fats and you are in for a bad time down the line.
I personally only go for glass jars.
pineapplesf@reddit
Lids have plastic but generally aren't in contact with food
Warburgerska@reddit
I know, but as you said, as of now, that's the least amount you can be exposed to when looking for ready to eat self stable food.
At least if you don't get down to conserving it yourself in Glas Mason jars like Ball or Weck.
pineapplesf@reddit
Ball jar lids have plastic coating over the metal. The reusable ones are made 100% of plastic. For what it's worth. Glass jars (of any kind) are as close to plastic free as you can go in modern society.
Warburgerska@reddit
Oh really? In Germany the Weck brand is completely made of a Glas jar, a Glas lid and latex it holds together with Metall clamps till cooling and afterwards true pressure by itself. Thought that those Ball hats worked similarly.
Really a shame, considering that latex is in many cases such a great alternative, even silicone would be better.
pineapplesf@reddit
Bail style canning is not considered safe in the us. The double lid method is the standard for home canning and the single lid is standard for commerical canning.
FuryQuaker@reddit
BPA is still widely used in Denmark and I'm guessing most of Europe.
Particular_Fuel6952@reddit
I guess you’d have to weigh the risk of “microplastics/BPA” vs the alternative. Yeah if it’s an old can and you can still easily replace it for $.89 yeah, don’t risk it. Throw it away and go restock.
Not being rude but you’re on a prepper subreddit, so usually the scenario is some sort of low availability of food due to some adverse conditions. If my options are either tempt fate of some kind of microplastic issue or starve, I’m gonna eat the old can of food, assuming it’s not going to make me immediately sick.
Mushroom_Tip@reddit (OP)
My suggestion is to rotate through canned food regularly and eat up what you have while replacing it so you don't have any canned foods that are covered in cobwebs from 2002.
Particular_Fuel6952@reddit
Yeah, which I acknowledged in my first paragraph, that you didn’t cite.
I’m not here for a fight buddy, so if you are, I’m not gonna be your windmill.
Outrageous_Divide_36@reddit
OMG I've never heard someone drop this line and I love it. #quixote
mad_method_man@reddit
have to agree, thats a spiffy line
Professional-Can1385@reddit
It’s the best comment I’ve read in a long time on any subject on any site!
scribe31@reddit
You definitely sound like you are here for a fight and trying to start one.
Mushroom_Tip@reddit (OP)
Nobody is fighting with you
NorthernPrepz@reddit
Amen! This is why i limit my intake of canned food. I still eat a little though. Mostly canned fish and some canned beans. My tomatoes i generally rotate passata in glass jars.
SMB-1988@reddit
I do most of my own canning for this reason. I grow a big garden and can the excess in glass jars. Works great and is so much healthier.
arrow74@reddit
Honestly if you're in a position where you're consuming large enough portions for BPA to be an issue the world has probably gone to shit and you have bigger concerns.
But always a good reminder to rotate that pantry
natiplease@reddit
Yeah OP is very correct, I feel as though the only people who will read this and not care are doomsday preppers who think that they'll die before they get sick from BPAs
Mushroom_Tip@reddit (OP)
Yeah, it seems quite regularly that people ask in prepper communities about whether this old can is okay to eat and very few people if any bring up that it's probably full of BPAs and not worth it.
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