Canned Foods Cause Cancer

         

          After interviewing friends and family members, the most common myth that attracted the most interest and brought about uncertainty was whether eating canned goods was a health hazard to consumers, specifically, if it causes cancer.  Health has always been one of the top priorities of everyone’s daily lives.  Therefore, it is important to know the health benefits available as well as the health risks exposed.  An insight on the possible health issues that may be comprised in canned goods could provide valuable information to consumers to allow them to make the proper decision when deciding whether to cook a fresh meal or opt on eating something out of a can that does not require much cooking.

            The canning industry started as far back as around 1814, when a navy Admiral requested to test preserved meat on sick sailors.  However, canned foods were not publicly accepted until around 1830, when canned foods such as tomatoes, peas and sardines were available (Rees, page 10).  During the beginning of the canning industry, botulism was a serious issue that obstructed the business of canning.  Botulism is a disease due to an enterotoxin formed by the growth of botulinum micro-organisms.  Later on, safety factors were used in commercial canning which removed the implication of botulism in commercial canned foods (Fitzgerald, page 697-698).  Although, home canned foods, in contrast to commercially canned foods, were continuing to cause sickness and death, at the time, due to non-standardized techniques in canning.  As time passed, health regulations are formed and further safety factors are drawn to improve canned foods to abide by the regulations to prevent health risk issues.

            There are mixed beliefs and information provided for canned foods and the effects that canned foods have on human health.  Researchers are ongoing to determine the possible health issues available in canned goods.  The current debate regarding food packaging is in the use of an epoxy-based resin containing bisphenol A (BPA) in metal can liners.  The National Toxicology Program released evidence that BPA possibly possesses toxicity that affects the brain and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children who are exposed to levels that are documented as an average exposure for the general population of the U.S.  The Federal Drug and Administration did not pass a regulation on BPA because they believed that further research is needed (Environmental Health Perspectives).

            With health being one of the top priorities, if there are any signs of possible health risks, one would think that a temporary ban of the substance should be passed until further research is done to consider if the substance is in fact safe or hazardous to humans or any other life forms.  In the present case, BPA has been shown by some researchers to possibly have severe health issues.

            BPA has been linked to a variety of health problems that include prostate cancer (Main, page 1).  Further, animal model experiments have shown that BPA may have a long-term effect on endocrine systems which in turn influence tumor development later in life (Moral, page 102).  These possible risks should definitely raise a red flag and cause action of at least temporarily banning BPA until further researches are available to definitively show that BPA is safe or at least at what specific amounts would be safe.

            After some throughout research, it is still uncertain whether canned foods would in fact cause cancer but there are definitely possible health risks in each canned food product.  Many researchers have been done, specifically on BPA, which have shown mixed results of the effects of BPA on the health of model organisms and humans.   While further researches are continually being performed, caution should be taken when deciding whether to purchase canned foods or preparing a fresh home cooked meal. 

Environmental Health Perspectives, volume 120, number 6, A222-A237, June 2012

Fitzgerald, Gerald A., American Journal of Public Health, Volume 37, 695-701, 1947.

Main, Emily. "We Recommend." Canned Food Carries a Hidden Health Risk. N.p., n.d. Retrieved from http://www.rodalenews.com/plastic-chemicals-and-canned-products

Moral, Raquel, Wang, Richard, Russo Irma H, Coral A Lamartiniere1, Julia Pereira and Jose Russo, “Effect of prenatal exposure to the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A on mammary gland morphology and gene expression signature” Journal of Endocrinology (2008) 196, 101–112.

Rees, J.A.G., “Processing and Packaging Heat Preserved Foods”, edited by J.A.G. Rees, J. Bettison, 9-10, 1991