BPA-free Tomatoes Do Exist!

Updated 1/31/12 – Check out our newly updated BPA-free Canned Food Shopping Guide

We recently shared our pathetic findings when searching for pre-prepared tomatoes in BPA-free containers.  Several of our amazing readers came to the rescue with possibilities we hadn’t heard of, so we started the process of confirming with the each manufacturer.  We ended up with two positively BPA-free options and still have one more that may be added to the list soon.  You’ll notice that both of the brands listed below are using aseptic carton packaging made by Tetra Pak, which opened up a whole new research project.  We have a slew of new info on that front that we’ll be sharing with you very soon.

Pomi Tomatoes

We spoke with makers of Pomi Tomatoes, Boschi Food & Beverage of Italy, and confirmed that their containers are 100% BPA-free.  They offer a nice line of tomato products including chopped, strained and marinara sauce.  All can be found in the USA at Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. and Amazon.com, although inventory levels seem to fluctuate based on availability.

Trader Joe’s Tomatoes

We confirmed with Trader Joe’s that all of their tomato products (including soups) packaged in cartons are made by Tetra Pak and are BPA-free.

We’re working on one other brand of tomatoes in glass jars without the typical BPA-based epoxy.  We’re unfamiliar with the epoxy used, so we’re pursuing help from an expert to make sure it’s something we feel comfortable recommending.

Have we missed anything?  Speak up and let us know!

Have you tried these products?  Let us know if they’re worthwhile!

UPDATE 1/27/10:   We’ve heard from a few of our readers that Bionaturae’s glass jar lids were reportedly BPA-free. We spoke with the manufacturer and have confirmed that they are in fact BPA-free.  We also learned that they use a PVC-based organosol lacquer which was concerning, so we asked about leaching.  They’ve done thorough testing and have found no leaching of the organosol into the food.

UPDATE 1/20/11:  Eden Foods Finds a Better Solution to BPA-lined Cans for Tomatoes and Sauces

UPDATE 1/31/12: We checked with Muir Glen at the end of December and here’s how they responded:

Thank you for contacting Muir Glen about bisphenol-A or BPA.

As of October 2011, Muir Glen canned tomato products do not utilize BPA in product packaging.

Muir Glen continues to believe BPA is safe based on the weight of evidence of scientific and governmental bodies worldwide, including comprehensive risk assessments in Japan and the European Union along with the European Food Safety Authority’s reaffirmation in December 2011 of its opinion that there is no new evidence to suggest the tolerable daily intake of BPA needs to be lowered. The FDA has also endorsed the safety of current exposure levels.

However, we know that some of our consumers have chosen to avoid BPA, so we had been looking for alternatives. Working with our can suppliers and can manufacturers, Muir Glen was able to develop and test a safe and viable alternative that does not use BPA for our canned tomato products. We began transitioning to those linings with the fall 2010 tomato pack – and we completed that transition with the 2011 tomato pack.

Your views are important to us. Again, thank you for contacting Muir Glen, and thank you for your support of our products.

Check Out Our Updated BPA-free Canned Food Shopping Guide

Photo sources:  Flickr via arnold/inuyaki and Amazon.com