Debate is heating up in Washington, D.C. over a plastic chemical. The Food and Drug Administration says the amount of Bisphenol-A in food containers is extremely low and safe. However, the agency is reassessing potential health risks.

In a followup to our KY3 News investigation of BPA, we looked at why some canned foods absorb more of the chemical, and how some people are going for greener alternatives.

From infant formula to vegetables, fruit and soup, the FDA estimates 17 percent of the American diet comes from cans. But, now some people are wondering if a cancer-causing chemical is sealed inside, too.

"I don't want any added chemicals going into my body or the body of my family," said Connie Neagle of Springfield.

Our KY3 News investigation found a high amount of Bisphenol-A (BPA) in canned tomatoes. Researchers say highly acidic foods like some citrus fruits or fatty foods absorb more of the chemical.

"So tuna fish in oil is going to absorb more BPA out of the canned lining than tuna fish in water," said Frederick Vom Saal, a researcher at University of Missouri.

Heat dramatically increases that effect, which is what happens when cans go through the production line.

Consumers trying to avoid BPA are now reaching for glass products or skipping the supermarket and going straight for the garden.

Farmer Dan Bigbee says more Americans are questioning the safety standards of big corporations.

"We've had spinach recalls, lettuce recalls, beef recalls; now this thing with the plastic. It's just really hard for people to trust their food supply," said Bigbee.

As controversy swirls around the chemical industry, growers hope the winds of change bring business back to those living off the land.

As more people shop for produce here in the fields, Bigbee hopes that will mean renewed interest in an old household chore that was once a way of life in southwest Missouri: homemade canned goods.

At grocery stores, organic sales are up. And, as more manufacturers phase out BPA in plastics, one canned food company is ahead of the game. Eden Organic packs its beans in lead-free cans coated with a natural plant resin instead of BPA.

Here are some simple ways that parents can lower the amount of BPA in baby formula: Choose powdered formula, which won't absorb as much of the chemical and will be diluted with water, or choose formula in a plastic container that does not have the number 7 recycling triangle. That "7" means it could contain BPA.



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