Dear Ms Brown:

On behalf of the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, Inc, I am writing in follow-up on your recent article responding to a question about bisphenol A (BPA) in canned goods and plastics. Your article provides a good deal of information about BPA in plastics, and I wanted to provide you with some important information about the safe use of BPA in metal packaging as well.

In your article, you mentioned recent reports of studies on animals have provided conflicting information for consumers. The highest levels reported by environmental and health activists in food from metal packaging represent only a fraction of the lowest regulatory recommendation now in effect. In its April 2008 statement, the United States Food and Drug Administration clearly said exposure levels to BPA from food content materials are below those that may cause health effects. To put current levels of BPA exposure from metal cans in perspective, consider this - an average adult consumer would have to ingest about 500 pounds of canned food and beverages every day for an entire lifetime to exceed the safe level of BPA set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Metal packaging has a proven record of success and has helped create the world's safest food supply. It routinely delivers the highest level of performance when it comes to protecting food quality and nutrition, allowing proper food sterilisation which ensures food safety and extending the shelf life of foods. Metal cans are infinitely recyclable and are the most sustainable packaging technology in use today.

Can-coating technology

BPA-based epoxy resin coating is the only metal-can-coating technology available today that meets all critical performance and regulatory criteria for the broadest spectrum of applications. If you would like to learn more about the safe use of BPA epoxy resin liners in metal packaging, we would be happy to provide you with additional information or you may visit our website at http://www.metal-pack.org. Thank you.

John M. Rost, PhD

Chair

North American Metal

Packaging Alliance, Inc

Washington, DC, United States

Send questions and comments to our health specialists at Your Health, c/o The Gleaner, 7 North Street, Kingston; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com. Unless otherwise indicated, letters and the specialists' responses are usually published.