School-provided lunches have always been a source of controversy (like when the federal government tried to count condiments as vegetables), and sadly it seems there’s another issue being thrown into the mix: BPA exposure.
A new study out of Stanford University has found that school meals may contain unsafe levels of bisphenol A (BPA)—a chemical often found in canned goods and plastic packaging that is toxic to many areas of the body, but especially the reproductive system. BPA weakly mimics estrogen, causing disruptions in human hormones, and has been linked to a wide range of other issues such as cancer.
Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of BPA, as their organ systems are not yet fully developed. The potential hormone disruptions can cause serious health problems.
“Sometimes only small changes in hormone activity during development can cause permanently adverse effects,” wrote the authors.
Prepackaged cornucopia
“During school site visits, I was shocked to see that virtually everything in school meals came from a can or plastic packaging,” said Jennifer Hartle, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. “Meat came frozen, pre-packaged, pre-cooked, and pre-seasoned. Salads were pre-cut and pre-bagged. Corn, peaches, and green beans came in cans. The only items not packaged in plastic were oranges, apples, and bananas.”
According to the study, which is published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, plastic packaging has become increasingly popular lately. Schools are not only looking to streamline the food preparation process, but also aim to reduce costs—all while trying to meet federal nutrition standards. Pre-packed meals are the easy solution, especially for low-income schools.
Unfortunately, the main way humans absorb BPA is through the consumption of food and drinks that have contacted BPA-contaminated containers—like water in certain kinds of plastic bottles, or pre-made foods in plastic bags.
How much is too much?
In order to figure out just how much BPA the children were consuming, the researchers interviewed food service personnel and visited school kitchens and cafeterias in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Not so shockingly, BPA amounts vary depending on what the children eat. For example, a student who consumed pizza, milk, and fresh fruit and vegetables received only minimal amounts of BPA, while the same meal with canned fruits and vegetables delivered up to 1.19 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight.
Rodent experiments showed toxicity occurring at levels of 2 micrograms/kilogram, but this doesn’t mean children are in the safe range of BPA exposure.
“With endocrine-disrupting chemicals particularly, there is so much uncertainty,” said Robert Lawrence, M.D., one of the study’s authors. “We can’t tie a specific dose to a specific response like we can with lead. But we know BPA is impacting human health. Animal models are showing there can be a whole range of health effects. This research shows we should take a precautionary approach.”
Moreover, while the U.S. EPA defined the safe total amount per kilogram per day as 50 micrograms in 1988, science has advanced leaps and bounds beyond what we knew at the time. The European Food Safety Authority recently lowered the recognized safe amount of BPA to only 4 micrograms.
“Even a dose of one extra microgram per day could be a big deal,” Hartle said. “If this is an avoidable exposure, do we need to risk it? If we can easily cut it out, why wouldn’t we?”
The solution to this problem is not to just select packages that are labeled as BPA-free, however; according to the researchers, the chemicals that replace BPA may end up being just as toxic. The only viable option is probably the hardest one, especially for low-income schools.
“The bottom line is more fresh fruits and vegetables. There is a movement for more fresh veggies to be included in school meals, and I think this paper supports that.”
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Image credit: Thinkstock
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