Campbell Soup Co has said it will stop using BPA (bisphenol A) in the lining of its cans, as a result of a public debate in the US over the use of the chemical.
The US food giant said it has been working on an alternative for “years”, and has now begun the shift to BPA-free cans. The company stopped short of giving a specific timeline for the phase-out.
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The announcement comes ahead of a US Food and Drug Administration ruling, expected by the end of the month, on whether to ban BPA from food and beverage packaging.
Campbell said its soup brand was attracting attention “for all the wrong reasons”. A report published by advocacy group Breast Cancer Fund in September last year found the company’s soup to have some of the highest BPA levels among a variety of canned foods it tested.
BPA, a commonly used additive in food packaging, mimics human oestrogen and is thought by some health advocates to be harmful to health, while others maintain that it is perfectly safe.
At the time, a Campbell spokesperson said the company was confident in the safety of its products. “The overwhelming weight of scientific evidence shows that the use of BPA in can lining poses no threat to human health,” he said. “That being said, we understand that consumers may have concerns about it. We’re very aware of the debate and we’re watching it intently.”
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By GlobalDataTo date, the FDA has maintained that BPA does not pose a health threat at the low levels at which it appears in canned and packaged foods.
Campbell CFO Craig Owens said the shift to BPA-free cans would not impose a significant cost to the company.
