BPA on Receipts, Even Whole Foods is Guilty

July 30th, 2010

The endocrine disruptor that everyone wants to avoid these days seems more and more unavoidable.

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been discovered through lab tests to be lurking inside 40 percent of receipts from major US businesses like Walmart, CVS, McDonald’s, Safeway, KFC, the US Postal Service and even Whole Foods.

The levels of BPA found were 250 to 1,000 times higher than what’s  inside canned foods and baby bottles.

The culprit is thermal paper used for receipts. And the Environmental Working Group (EWG) warns that this paper shouldn’t be recycled as it could corrupt recycled paper with BPA.

Starbucks beats out Whole Foods when it comes to BPA on receipts!

All’s not bad news though. Some companies had receipts that were either free of BPA or contained only trace amounts. So, cheers to these companies: Starbucks, Target and Bank of America ATMs.

I guess I’m still naive when it comes to BPA, but thanks to the lab study commissioned by the EWG, receipt BPA is now on my mind. Awareness is a good thing though. I tend to keep up with my receipts as I need them for checking all the charges against my debit card. Now I’ll take care to wash my hands! (Read more at EWG)

How worried should you be over BPA on receipts?

If you work as a cashier, you should probably be concerned. A recent Swiss study showed that BPA absorbs easily into the skin at a depth that’s difficult to wash away. (Read more at CNN)

Are you surprised about BPA on receipts?

(image via flickr/rudolf_schuba)

Filed under Healthy You | Comments (3)

3 Responses to “BPA on Receipts, Even Whole Foods is Guilty”

  1. Jennifer Chait on August 3, 2010 6:38 pm

    Ha I have this going up tomorrow at TOTS – you beat me to it. Frankly, I’m wondering who thought to even look at paper. I’m so tired of BPA sometimes…

  2. Peggy on August 3, 2010 6:49 pm

    Yeah, I know what you mean. I got officially tired of BPA with the whole SIGG liner deal. However, I appreciate knowing it’s a good idea to wash up after handling those seemingly innocent receipts.

  3. Appleton Papers on August 9, 2010 11:45 am

    Appleton Papers, which makes more than 50 percent of the receipt paper sold in the U.S., stopped using BPA in 2006. After reviewing available science we concluded removing BPA from our thermal products was the responsible thing to do. In doing so, we gave retailers and restaurants a safe, easy and cost-competitive choice. Our BPA-free thermal receipt paper is available globally.

    We realize that many of our competitors continue to use BPA despite mounting concerns about its safety. We are actively participating in the EPA’s BPA Alternatives in Thermal Paper Partnership. We hope the remainder of the thermal paper industry moves away from potentially harmful BPA. More information about the partnership is available on the EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/bpa/index.htm

    For more information about Appleton and our BPA-free thermal paper products, visit http://www.appletonideas.com.

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