How to Avoid BPA When Eating at Restaurants

When I lived in California I used to eat at Chevy's restaurant.  Their claim was that they make everything fresh every day and don't use anything from a can.  They're slogan was something like "No Cans, Never, Nada."  I used to think "fresh is great, but the occassional can isn't a big deal."  That was before the dangers of BPA came to the mainstream.

I've been wanting to write an article about the dangers of BPA for a while now, but every time I think I know all there is to know about the issue another report comes out about yet another danger to our health.  I'll write that article eventually, but in the meantime, if you aren't familiar with the dangers of BPA I refer you to Alicia Voorhies an RN and owner of The Soft Landing.  She is one of the top experts on BPA in the country.

Today I want to talk about eating out.  Most of us who are educated about BPA take great efforts to eliminate it from our homes and our food.  But what about when we eat out?  Restaurants use numerous products that are canned and that may contain BPA.  Here's a list of just some of the restaurant items that may contain BPA:

• Salad Bar - Beans, beets, peaches, olives, corn, mandarine oranges,
• Pasta - sauces made from canned tomatoes
• Fruit Pies - canned fruit filling, especially blueberry, cherry & strawberry
• Peanut Butter
• Mocha & hot chocolate -  some lower end coffee shops & restaurants use big cans of Hershey's syrup
• Custard pies - may contain canned condensed or evaporated milk, ie: pumpkin, key lime
• Sandwiches - tuna
• Thai food - anything with coconut milk
• Chinese food - baby carrots, water chesnuts
• Mexican food - chipotles in adobo
• Ceasar salad - anchovies in the dressing
• Chili - tomatoes, tomato paste
• Cheesecake - fruit glaze
• Ice cream sundae - chocolate syrup
• Juice - often comes in small cans
• Clam chowder - particularly if away from coastal areas with access to fresh clams