Harvard School of Public Health Announces Findings in Canned Food BPA Study

The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) announced Tuesday its findings in a study linking consumption of canned soup to a more than tenfold increase in BPA levels in humans. The study is one of the first to quantify BPA levels in humans after ingestion of canned foods.

The study aimed to determine whether the consumption of canned soup, as opposed to fresh soup, would increase urinary BPA concentrations. The research team recruited 75 volunteers from HSPH. One group consumed a 12-ounce serving of vegetarian canned soup each day for five days; another group consumed 12 ounces of vegetarian fresh soup (prepared without canned ingredients) daily for five days. After a two-day “washout” period, the groups reversed their assignments.

BPA was detected in 77 percent of people who ate the fresh soup, and all of the people who ate the canned soup, according to the study.

Urine samples taken during the testing showed that consumption of a serving of canned soup daily was associated with a 1,221 percent increase in BPA compared with levels in urine collected after consumption of fresh soup.

The researchers note that the elevation in urinary BPA concentrations may be temporary and that further research is needed to quantify its duration.