Kroger Joins Effort to Block Use of BPA

Having made sure that BPA is gone from the baby products it sells, Kroger now is ridding the chemical from cans it uses in its store brands and the paper on which its receipts are printed.

May 11, 2011 | Source: The Columbus Dispatcher | by Tracy Turner

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Having made sure that BPA is gone from the baby products it sells, Kroger now is ridding the chemical from cans it uses in its store brands and the paper on which its receipts are printed.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical used to harden certain plastics and has been associated with a variety of health problems. Kroger plans to have it completely off its register tape by the end of the year and will remove it from the linings of its store-brand canned goods “as quickly as possible.”

The move was based on customer feedback and emerging concerns regarding the safety of BPA, said Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey.

“While there is no conclusive scientific evidence that minimal exposure to BPA in can linings poses any risks to consumers, Kroger has begun a process that we believe will result in the removal of BPA in the linings of canned goods in all of our corporate brand items,” he said. “Customers are interested in the issue and what the company is doing on the issue.”

BPA has been used for years in bottles, canned-food linings and numerous household products. Companies use it to guard against contaminants and to extend a product’s shelf life.