I was reading Organic Gardening magazine the other day, and ran across an article that stated “Canning jar lids from the brands Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin are coated with bisphenol A”. Wait, isn't that every brand of canning lid made in the USA?Furthermore, Consumer Reports found BPA in 19 name-brand canned foods (that you can get off the shelf in any grocery store), and even in some cans marked "BPA Free". The FDA is now expressing concern (as of January 2010) about the potential effects BPA exposure may have, which mimics the hormone estrogen and may cause reproductive abnormalities and increase the risk of cancer and diabetes.
Well, sh*t. You try to eat right, exercise, and do a little home canning, but you still can't get away from the crapola.
Started researching whether there were any other canning lids that were BPA-free. Wecks has gorgeous jars with rubber gaskets and glass lids, but are only good for water-bath canning (jams & high acid food processing). If you want to can meats or other things needing pressure-canning, Wecks won't work. Quattro Stagioni lids (which I don't even know if they'll work with standard Ball or Kerr jars like I have) are also BPA-free and can be used in a pressure canner, but cost a $1.29 for a measly two lids.
Then, a miracle happened - @joykohl reminded me of the Tattler re-usable lids, and asked "are these BPA free?" Yes, yes, YES THEY ARE! They fit regular- and wide-mouth mason jars, and to top it off, they're REUSABLE! 3 dozen lids at $23.00 works out to about 66 cents per lids, and these can be re-used many, many times over. Some folks have used their original Tattler lids for over 20 years. Of course, the lids are plastic, so who knows if there's some other danger lurking in the plastic that won't be found out until several years from now, but, hey! It's better than storing foods in animal stomachs and burying in the dirt somewhere...
[pic: the Tattler re-usable lids]
Glad you were able to find something that works.
ReplyDeleteCanning... I am not there yet, but thank God people like you can keep me informed. Trying to do it right is becoming absurdly hard, so I am relieved for your solution.
ReplyDeleteI just ordered a package of wide, a package of regular and then a dozen each of the rubbers. I'll try them out first before I commit to a HUGE order of them.
ReplyDeleteThose look like they are made of something similiar to my beloved Scarpetta pasta sauce containers. (Non BPA, reusable, 'wavable, freezable, and recyclable)
ReplyDeleteGood for you!
Thanks for the heads up! My first thought was the same as yours. If only somebody wouldn't want THAT much money to figure out the code for taking us all back in time - where food should have remained. LOL
ReplyDeleteThank you again for reminding me about the Tattler. This time I listened and just ordered mine for this coming year.
ReplyDeleteWishing you peace with each step,
Mike
love photo in your previous post!!!!
ReplyDeleteHey thanks,
ReplyDeleteNow how about plastic jar rings instead of those that rust when they dont get dried right away?
Great post. Thanks for putting it out there, just in time for my BPA free mulberry jam.
ReplyDeleteI emailed the company asking exactly what their jar lids were made of (haven't heard back from them yet). Like you stated in the last part of your blog, there could be other nasty things in these lids for instance PVC or other plasticizers, which could be as bad or worse than the BPA.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend that has cancer but he used to drink coke everyday so his doctor tell him that probably it causes the cancer because the coke cans has many dangerous products that can kill a person.
ReplyDeleteFYI;
ReplyDeleteThe Tattler plastic lids are made of (Polyoxymethylene plastic) which is a byproduct of formaldehyde! CAUTION!!! I can over 200 pints of salmon every year and this whole BPA thing makes me mad. Why cant they just use stainless steel. I will pay a reasonable price...
A wiki link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyoxymethylene_plastic
Thanks for the info about the Polyoxymethylene, Anonymous!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reusablecanninglids.com/BpaFree.aspx
ReplyDeletealways better to get facts. Don't always believe what you see on the internet. I like the tattler lids.
Although Weck are made for water canning, many people use them for pressure canning without problems. I have certainly considered them.
ReplyDeleteUsed to live in Italy and Quattro Stagioni lids are made to fit our Ball/Kerr/Mason jars without problems.
ReplyDeleteI just purchased 10 (2packs) of REGULAR (70mm) Quattro Stagioni canning lids...as well as 10 of the (86mm)WIDEMOUTH lids. I am happy to report that they are ALL INTERCHANGEABLE with ALL BALL-MASON & KERR glass jars. Quattro Stagioni lids are from Italy-found on Amazon and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful having the peace of mind of no BPA and NO plastic lids. : )
Warning! The sizes I listed for Regular & Widemouth are the right sizes(70mm & 86mm)...there are conflicting pictures on Amazon online ads with a different description other than what is being shown in the way of a picture of the item.
P.S. QUATTRO STAGIONI lids ARE Stainless Steel ! (See: Sept 4, 2010 by Anonymous)
ReplyDelete