BPA Free

[ProudGrandma]

Who here has made moves to make their home BPA free? If you are one of these...what did you replace or get rid of at first...and what did you replace it with?

 

I am thinking plastic sport bottles, plastic containers for storing food and zippered bags. But what I am not sure of is, is it ok to have glass containers with plastic lids..or is that just as bad?

 

Someone who has done the research, can you guide me??

[3byzaz]

I have been trying to do this...for sure for our water bottles. And, then I found that Costco has sets of containers - gosh, the name escapes me, but I think I read about them here. Not Glasslock - they are plastic but without the BPA! Something lock...

 

I've been working on this a lot. Trying to use dishes and these containers or glass instead. Trying to cut down on baggies, but that's hard!

[mcconnellboys]

I don't know the answer and the lids bother me, too. I am moving to change my storage containers to glass. Some of them have plastic lids and some do not. I am moving toward clean canteens for drinks. They have plastic lids, though. I've never seen one that did not.

 

Isn't the BPA problem of leaching occurring when heating foods in plastic? (Or when things in plastic heat up in a hot car, out during the summer, etc.) If items are being stored in the fridge in glass containers with lids that may or may not touch the contents of the container, and even if items are stored in the fridge in plastic or ziploc bags - is there a danger of leaching there? I didn't think there was.

 

I'm absolutely not heating up items in the microwave in plastic any more.

 

My concern at this time is directed toward BPA in the linings of canned goods.....

[abbeyej]

We didn't have much plastic to begin with, so it hasn't been too challenging. If you use a microwave, the first thing I would go after replacing is anything with possible BPA that goes in the microwave. There are glass dishes with BPA-free plastic lids that you can use for storing and reheating leftovers. (ETA: I wouldn't put the plastic lids -- even the allegedly BPA-free ones -- in the microwave, but they wouldn't bother me too much for fridge storage.)

 

I don't use plastic cups, since I find that even kids are less likely to spill heavier glass or ceramic cups and glasses than they are the lighter plastics. If I still had a toddler in the house and needed a sippy cup, I'd go with something like a small Klean Kanteen bottle with a bpa-free sippy lid.

 

You mention ziploc type bags. It's my understanding that Ziploc brand baggies and Saran wrap do not have bpa (though some of the off-brands do). So while it's reasonable to want to cut back on disposable plastics like that, it wouldn't be a really high priority for me from a health standpoint.

 

We did make the switch to stainless steel water bottles with bpa-free lids. I like the Klean Kanteen brand a lot. I knew I did not want aluminum water bottles, and I felt better buying from a company that stands behind its materials (even if it cost a few dollars more) than one of the no-name bottles that are cropping up everywhere right now. It also makes it easier to buy interchangeable lids, etc, since everything in our house is from the same company. I bought our first KKs almost two years ago (along with Built NY sleeves for them -- a real must when using metal water bottles) and they've gotten a ton of use. I bought more this past summer, 'cause they really did turn out to be a great investment and then bought some for my brother and SIL for Christmas. :)

 

The thing that threw me recently was learning that many canned goods have been contaminated with BPA. My first thought was "but I don't use a lot of cans!"... But then I realized that I do buy canned tomatoes and canned beans pretty regularly for the convenience factor (and occasionally other items like canned pumpkin or coconut milk, etc)... The only brand that I know of that claims all of their cans are BPA free is Eden Organics. I'm hoping that in the near future other companies will insure that their cans are BPA free as well and advertise that for consumers. In the mean time, I'm using boxed (tetra-packed) tomatoes on occasion or jarred or fresh, and I'm biting the bullet and remembering to soak and plan the extra cooking time for my dry beans...

 

ETA: We did switch this past year to stainless steel tiffins for taking lunches with us when we go out. The kids and I got cheap ones from Cost Plus World Market, but dh's is a nicer one from http://www.to-goware.com/ and the Kelty Toto lunch box (just an insulated zippered bag) fits it perfectly. It's a little large, honestly, but it's obviously of higher quality than the ones the kids and I have, and at some point I'd like to replace them all. Obviously these can't go in a microwave, but they're great for sandwiches and salads, etc.

Edited February 25, 2010 by abbeyej

[ProudGrandma]

thanks for answering my questions...this is all a new thing to me...I have known about BPA...but I am now just getting to the point of changing things.

[Slartibartfast]

I am partly switched to glass. I need to get some little dishes for the microwave so I am not always sticking my glass bowls in there.

 

I have a lot of mason jars and such for some of my dried goods, others are in milk jugs and then the apothecary type jars you can get from Target.

 

Canned goods is rough, those tomatoes in the boxes are like $2.49 each. That is really quite a hit to my grocery budget. I am hoping to plant a lot more tomatoes this year and can. :( I do use some canned beans as well and I am going to stop. Ugh.