Toxic Tomatoes: Why Canned Tomatoes Are Bad For Your Health

Tomatoes are a staple in this house. Especially in the summer, when I tend to go nutzo planting and forget the space requirements needed between each plant. Every. Single. Year. This was my tomato garden last year. It was not pretty.

Since we’ve become a society of instant gratification and are accustomed a surplus of seasonal foods in the off season, canned tomatoes are one of the major players that take up residence in our pantries. For good reason. Who doesn’t love a nice homemade marinara, lasagna using homemade meat sauce, or hearty chili in the middle of winter? Not this girl.

Here’s the problem. Canned foods pose a unique risk to our health as they are lined with an epoxy coating that contains a chemical called BPA or Bisphenol-A. BPA is a synthetic estrogen, and potent hormone disrupting chemical that leaches into the foods stored in that can. Foods that are highly acidic, like tomatoes {even the organic ones}, cause more of the BPA to leach, which isn’t good. It is estimated that 98% of Americans have BPA in their blood thanks to things like canned foods, and new studies are linking BPA exposure to weight gain, insulin resistance, early onset puberty, reproductive problems, birth defects, cancer, and behavioral problems in children.

In fact, canned tomatoes are one of the foods that top endocrinologists have said they would never ever eat. That should tell you something.

Unfortunately, opting for BPA-free cans or containers is not going to cut it. Here’s why. Due to insane customer demand to eliminate BPA from our lives, companies swapped out the controversial BPA for its lesser known evil twin, Bisphenol-S, which has similar health risks {source}. Sneaky, sneaky. Don’t be fooled. 

So what’s a tomato-lover {or Italian} to do? 

Alternatives to Canned Tomatoes

1. Use fresh tomatoes {dice, puree in the food processor or Vitamix, or boil and peel}.

2. Opt for boxed {non-organic} tomatoes. Since standard tomatoes are not listed on the Environmental Working Group’s recently released 2013 Dirty Dozen list {only cherry tomatoes}, I’d venture to say this is a better option to organic tomatoes sold in BPA-lined cans.

3. Choose tomatoes sold in glass jars, like these, these, or these.

4. Learn to can tomatoes when their in season {it’s easy!}. I took a class given by a local chef a few years ago, and learned so much. Don’t have a Chef Rosa near you? Fear not. Check out this book and learn how to can with the best of ’em. 

Making these easy switches might cost you more in the short-term, after all, you get what you pay for {high quality, chemical-free vs. questionable quality, chemical-laden ‘maters}. But I ask you, how much is your health and that of your family worth? You can pay now or you can pay later. What’s it gonna be?

What other ways do you avoid exposure to BPA? I’d LOVE to hear! Please leave a comment.

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