It's been awhile since I have posted about BPA - Bisphenol A - so I thought I would do an update.
It is certainly the topic that I get the most consumer emails on.
I do have a little good news to report.
It seems like the can industry is moving towards using alternatives.
For the longest time, our canners - relying on information from the can industry - said "there is nothing wrong with BPA." When I would get these emails from my suppliers, I would write back and say "you are on the wrong side of the issue...you need to be looking at alternatives."
Of course, in reality, it isn't that simple.
The can manufacturers turn out - I don't know - hundreds of thousands of cans per day...maybe millions...all coated with BPA.
The canners themselves have huge warehouses - millions of square feet that I have walked through. Right now, with the harvest over, they have filled, unlabeled cans of tomatoes, corn and other vegetables. Then during the year, as they ship out product to the customers, they start buying empty cans to put in the warehouses, in anticipation of next year's crop.
In other words, none of these can manufacturers have the capability to produce a year's worth of cans in a week or two before next year's harvest. They are making cans year round.
So where are we at today?
A consumer wrote to me this morning "...Is there someplace I can go to find information on putting pressure on the can manufacturers? Do I just need to be hassling my grocers, or are they at the mercy of their distributors..."
The can manufacturers are the ones in the middle. They have heard, loud and clear, that they need to start using alternatives to BPA. We have been told that a certain percentage of our Organic Tomato cans are BPA free...maybe 20%. We were also told that we can't order product to come in with BPA free cans...that it is going to take a year for the old cans to work their way through the system.
As to putting pressure on the can industry....it isn't just us - the organic folk - that want BPA free cans. They are hearing it from Wal Mart and the other big guys. The main difference, though, is we are telling our suppliers that they can increase our cost to cover the BPA free cans. Wal Mart and the other big guys? I can't speak for them...but Wal Mart didn't get to the size they are at by saying to their suppliers, "sure, go ahead and raise your prices to us..." if you know what I mean.
The canners themselves have produced - and put into their production sample rooms - cans without BPA. They want to be able to look at year old cans of beans, two year old cans of beans, and see if they maintain the same shelf life as they had with cans with BPA.
And that is an update as of today
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Mentally preparing for getting an iPhone...
I am getting ready to get an iPhone...so I have been surfing and came across the following...not quite about the iPhone but interesting nonetheless...
From WiseGeek:
"Stewardesses" is perhaps the longest common word that can be typoed with only your left hand. If you consider more obscure words, however, you'll find that "aftercataracts" and "tesseradecades," are the longest words at 14 characters. Using only your right hand, the longest word you can type is "lollipop" but if you permit the use of dashes, then "Johnny-Jump-Up" — a type of flower — becomes the longest word you can type with only the right hand. Other words that you can type only with your left hand are "retweet," "gazette," "eraser," and "seatbelt." Other right hand words include "homonym," "unholy," "polyp," and "monopoly."
Other word oddities:
The longest word that you can type with alternating hands is "leptothricosis," which is an obsolete term for those diseases caused by the bacteria Leptothrix.
The only two English words with three consecutive sets of double letters are "bookkeeping" and "bookkeeper."
"Queueing" is the only word with five consecutive vowels; the word with the most consonants in a row is "latchstring."
I always liked homonyms :)....
From WiseGeek:
"Stewardesses" is perhaps the longest common word that can be typoed with only your left hand. If you consider more obscure words, however, you'll find that "aftercataracts" and "tesseradecades," are the longest words at 14 characters. Using only your right hand, the longest word you can type is "lollipop" but if you permit the use of dashes, then "Johnny-Jump-Up" — a type of flower — becomes the longest word you can type with only the right hand. Other words that you can type only with your left hand are "retweet," "gazette," "eraser," and "seatbelt." Other right hand words include "homonym," "unholy," "polyp," and "monopoly."
Other word oddities:The longest word that you can type with alternating hands is "leptothricosis," which is an obsolete term for those diseases caused by the bacteria Leptothrix.
The only two English words with three consecutive sets of double letters are "bookkeeping" and "bookkeeper."
"Queueing" is the only word with five consecutive vowels; the word with the most consonants in a row is "latchstring."
I always liked homonyms :)....
Monday, September 20, 2010
News Headline and Comment
I saw a headline this morning: "Michigan Announces $25 Million Settlement for Alleged Price Fixing Conspiracy."
Nobody is ever going to accuse our company of price fixing!
We have worked for 10 years to lower the price of natural and organic foods.
I remember when I started my natural food distributing business back in the late 70s. There were 4 large natural food distributors in Los Angeles. They all worked on the exact same 25% profit margin. They all had the exact same discount structure. The only difference in their pricing, was one of them rounded their prices to the nearest half or whole cent, and the others charged the exact price (.333 cents for something versus rounding to .335).
My goal then - as it is now - is to sell our products at a small profit. We don't look at other companies' pricing and say, "wow, we could charge double the price like they do." We have been the discounters, the renegades, the people that "ruin the industry's profit margins" - and we're proud of it.
Nobody is ever going to accuse our company of price fixing!
We have worked for 10 years to lower the price of natural and organic foods.
I remember when I started my natural food distributing business back in the late 70s. There were 4 large natural food distributors in Los Angeles. They all worked on the exact same 25% profit margin. They all had the exact same discount structure. The only difference in their pricing, was one of them rounded their prices to the nearest half or whole cent, and the others charged the exact price (.333 cents for something versus rounding to .335).
My goal then - as it is now - is to sell our products at a small profit. We don't look at other companies' pricing and say, "wow, we could charge double the price like they do." We have been the discounters, the renegades, the people that "ruin the industry's profit margins" - and we're proud of it.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Travel
The next 5 weeks find me out on the toad...
This week, I head to Seattle for the Natural Foods Association Northwest show.
Next week, is a 3 part trip....to Minnesota to visit a pickle producer, then to Appleton for a visit at our Organic Corn cannery....ending up in Chicago with a distributor visit.
The following week is a trip to Idaho to see a bean plant.
Then the next week is a trip to New Mexico to visit a customer in Albuquerque, see a chiles plant in Deming, fly out of El Paso into Los Angeles for a couple more vendor meetings, then home...
And finally, the week of October 11th is Boston and Expo East.
So yes, I am back to traveling a lot and racking up those United Frequent Flyer miles and Marriott points :)
This week, I head to Seattle for the Natural Foods Association Northwest show.
Next week, is a 3 part trip....to Minnesota to visit a pickle producer, then to Appleton for a visit at our Organic Corn cannery....ending up in Chicago with a distributor visit.
The following week is a trip to Idaho to see a bean plant.
Then the next week is a trip to New Mexico to visit a customer in Albuquerque, see a chiles plant in Deming, fly out of El Paso into Los Angeles for a couple more vendor meetings, then home...
And finally, the week of October 11th is Boston and Expo East.
So yes, I am back to traveling a lot and racking up those United Frequent Flyer miles and Marriott points :)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Jody's Mom's 89th Birthday
September 9th was Jody's Mom's 89th Birthday. Jody and Pearl traveled back to Pa to help her mom celebrate...they picked up a few of Mom's friends and all went out to Olive Garden to celebrate. On the right are Jody, Jody's Mom and Pearl. On the left are the friends whose names I don't know :). A good time was had by all...
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
More cats
Dear Gary and Jody
I use the Natural Value Pate Style Tuna and Chicken Dinner
cat food (UPC code 706173500117) as the only way of getting a
critical medicine into my cat. I mix the medicine in the cat food,
and he eats it. I have tried other flavors and other brands of cat
food, and other ways to try to get the medicine in him, but this is
the only successful way, and the only one he will eat with
the medicine.
I have four Siberian cats, the one needing the medicine is Kochko,
which means LOVE in Russian. The others are named Maksim, Sasha
and Mischa, also all Russian names. ALL of them LOVE your cat food
and will not eat any other canned cat food.
Sasha, a love sponge! Extremely affectionate.
Maksim (the Russian name for Maximillian).
Mischa…By far, one of the cutest and sweetest kitties I have ever known.
I use the Natural Value Pate Style Tuna and Chicken Dinner
cat food (UPC code 706173500117) as the only way of getting a
critical medicine into my cat. I mix the medicine in the cat food,
and he eats it. I have tried other flavors and other brands of cat
food, and other ways to try to get the medicine in him, but this is
the only successful way, and the only one he will eat with
the medicine.
I have four Siberian cats, the one needing the medicine is Kochko,
which means LOVE in Russian. The others are named Maksim, Sasha
and Mischa, also all Russian names. ALL of them LOVE your cat food
and will not eat any other canned cat food.
Sasha, a love sponge! Extremely affectionate. 
Maksim (the Russian name for Maximillian). 
Mischa…By far, one of the cutest and sweetest kitties I have ever known.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
New BPA free can lining announced
ADM adds BPA alternative to product line
August 16th, 2010
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it has begun offering isosorbide under its line of Evolution Chemicals. Isosorbide is an industrial ingredient made from corn that is a potential alternative to the petroleum-based chemical Bisphenol A in plastics and other applications. ADM is the first company in North America to offer renewable isosorbide on a commercial scale.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is used in the manufacture of plastics and is present in many products including eyeglass lenses, sports equipment and CDs and DVDs. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health have expressed concern about the potential health effects associated with BPA.
“Today more than ever, people are seeking both consumer and industrial products that are safe and renewable,” said Robert Broomham, business director, ADM Industrial Chemicals. “Isosorbide offers manufacturers a renewable alternative to the traditional chemicals found in many products.”
Isosorbide is a versatile ingredient with wide range of applications. It can be used in polyesters for inks, toners, powder coatings, packaging and durable goods; polyurethanes for foams and coatings; polycarbonates for durable goods and optical media; epoxy resins for paints; and detergents, surfactants and additives for personal care and consumer products.
“With increased interest in environmental improvement, we see growing opportunity to expand our portfolio of renewable industrial products,” said Broomham. “ADM’s research and development expertise and our access to agricultural feedstocks enable us to develop innovative ingredients that can serve as replacements for traditional chemicals.”
So after reading this press release, I asked one of my manufacturers about this and received this response from their can manufacturer:
"...This chemical is in its infancy. It is on the front end of the testing/commercialization time-line. We are studying it. However, it has never been put in a can lining. It hasn’t been tested on shelf-life or flavor issues. This is one of many chemicals of its kind that have hit the market. They all need to go through the testing process."
Progress often comes in slow steps...
August 16th, 2010
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it has begun offering isosorbide under its line of Evolution Chemicals. Isosorbide is an industrial ingredient made from corn that is a potential alternative to the petroleum-based chemical Bisphenol A in plastics and other applications. ADM is the first company in North America to offer renewable isosorbide on a commercial scale.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is used in the manufacture of plastics and is present in many products including eyeglass lenses, sports equipment and CDs and DVDs. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health have expressed concern about the potential health effects associated with BPA.
“Today more than ever, people are seeking both consumer and industrial products that are safe and renewable,” said Robert Broomham, business director, ADM Industrial Chemicals. “Isosorbide offers manufacturers a renewable alternative to the traditional chemicals found in many products.”
Isosorbide is a versatile ingredient with wide range of applications. It can be used in polyesters for inks, toners, powder coatings, packaging and durable goods; polyurethanes for foams and coatings; polycarbonates for durable goods and optical media; epoxy resins for paints; and detergents, surfactants and additives for personal care and consumer products.
“With increased interest in environmental improvement, we see growing opportunity to expand our portfolio of renewable industrial products,” said Broomham. “ADM’s research and development expertise and our access to agricultural feedstocks enable us to develop innovative ingredients that can serve as replacements for traditional chemicals.”
So after reading this press release, I asked one of my manufacturers about this and received this response from their can manufacturer:
"...This chemical is in its infancy. It is on the front end of the testing/commercialization time-line. We are studying it. However, it has never been put in a can lining. It hasn’t been tested on shelf-life or flavor issues. This is one of many chemicals of its kind that have hit the market. They all need to go through the testing process."
Progress often comes in slow steps...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
