A reaction to the BPA article by the big guys at Annie's...

Annie's is the one that shocked me the most - that I think I'm buying something I think is "healthy" and "natural" for my child and that is not the case.  I went onto Annie's Facebook site to ask for a reaction from them and found that someone had beaten me to it.

Here are their responses:

I'm John, the CEO of Annie's. We've been working dilligently on this issue for many months. We have two big initiatives underway at this time, one is a BPA free can option that we packed out and is in shelf life tests right now.... If that works, which we will know in a few months, we'll make the transition. As an alternative, we are looking at a Tetra pack option. We are working hard on it and I can assure you one way or another we will be in a BPA free container as soon as we can. We and the rest of people with products like ours are all facing the same challenge, and we are doing everything we can to rectify it. Thanks for the reminder, and for the trust in our brand. JF

and:

Hi Heather, thanks for your question. There is indeed a small amount of BPA in the can liner of all cans that are used to pack high acid products (like tomato sauce) that are packed by retort (head and pressure) process. Think of the entir...e aisle of the grocery store - almost everyone has the same issue. BPA is a barrier that prevents the can's liner from disintegrating over time due to the acidity of the food; that's why it has been used in the food industry for a very long time. We've tested our cans extensively, and find we do have very low levels that fall well below all FDA guidelines.

However, that does NOT mean we at Annie's are happy or OK with the fact that BPA is in this particular product. We are working on to get it out as soon as we can, because that is what our consumers want, and the trust of our consumers is our most prized asset. We are currently testing a new technology for a BPA-free can. To make sure there’s no reaction with the metal can, we are putting our cans through an extended shelf life test. We’re hopeful that option will work, will certainly move to a BPA free alternate for this line as soon as we can. We’ll continue to share our progress here. Help us understand what the best option would be for you, too – a glass jar? discontinuing the line until we have a bpa-free can? We truly appreciate your feedback!

I would definitely prefer a glass jar and intend to tell them!  If you would like to weigh in on this matter, be sure to visit their FB page and leave a comment to tell them what you think!