Did you know that BPA is on the interior of Ball and Kerr Canning jar lids? I
was finally able to talk with a person from the Ball Company about their rubber
rimmed lids with the white-coated interior and their plastic storage caps. The
person (Jessica) looked in her data sheets and confirmed that the white interior
lid contains BPA. She said it is a small amount. She said it would take a 150
pound person 2,400-4,300 lids with the BPA in them to reach the maximum safe
daily limit required by the FDA. She went on to say that the BPA must be in the
lids according to FDA rules to prevent corrosion. The lid with the white
interior is made from a modified vinyl and is not enamel. She also said the
modified vinyl does not have PVC in it but definitely has the BPA.
+
The Ball plastic storage caps are made from polypropylene which is a #5
plastic.[1] There is no BPA or PVC in the plastic storage caps. She further
stated that the Ball Company is researching a new lid which would be BPA free.
All my best.

The manufacturer and distributor of Ball and Kerr lids are supposedly the
same company now. I was told by a representative of the company who
licensed the manufacturing and sales of those lids that the Ball company
does not manufacture or sell lids anymore. The representative claimed that
both lids were sealed with plastic coatings.

However, when I scraped the goldish underside of Kerr lids, a
clear-undercoat easily curled like plastic. Therefore, I do not use Kerr
lids. When I scraped the white-undercoat of Ball lids, there was no curled
material. When I pressed and cut hard into the white- undercoat of Ball
lids, the coating chipped but did not curl or fragment. So, if the Ball
white-undercoat is plastic, it is a variety that does not dissolve with
food.

The only way BPA[2] would leach into food is if the undercoat were soft
enough to dissolve in food. That may be true of the Kerr brand but not the
Ball. The main foods I use that touch the lids are vegetable juices and
milk. Neither are caustic and could not dissolve the undercoat and release
BPA from the Ball brand. However, I mix my fruits and creams together in
jars. Some of the acidic fruits such as pineapple could dissolve the
coating but when I tested for that, I could not find any etching of the
coating under a microscope unless the pineapple (without cream) directly
touched the Ball lid's undercoat for several weeks.

The coating of at least 2,300 lids would have to completely dissolve into
food to cause a severe reaction from BPA. I estimate that that would take
about 500 years. The trace amount of BPA that might be released over many
months from one lid would not be enough to store and harm the bodies of
people eating my Primal Diet(tm). However, I have one caution: Once the
white-coating has chipped it should not be used; recycle it with cans.

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[1]: Plastics are made of various toxic compounds and are graded as # 1-7. #5s
are polypropylene (PP). Its characteristics include strength, toughness,
barriers to moisture and resistance to heat, chemicals, grease and oil. #5 grade
plastics are used for microwaveable ware, kitchenware, yogurt contains,
margerine tubs, microwaveable disposable take-away containers, disposable cups
and plates.

[2]: BPA @(https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/sya-bpa/)