BPA: Waiter, there may be a carcinogen in my soup

Because BPA has been presumed to be safe without question for so long, very little research has been undertaken to find commercially viable substitutes in canned goods. "At the moment, there is no single epoxy resin which provides the same degree of food safety, shelf stability and cost-effectiveness for maintaining the shelf life of fruits and vegetables," said Russell.

That was not the case with plastic bottles. In that industry, replacements have been much easier to come by. Alternatives to plastic with BPA include polyethylene, most commonly used to make shopping bags, and polypropylene, which makes water bottles squeezable.

To be sure, non-BPA-based resins exist, but they are much more expensive. That's a challenge for an industry that is sensitive about price differences to the fraction of a penny.

Michigan-based Eden Foods, for example, markets beans and rice in BPA-free cans made by Ball Corp, but they cost 14 percent more than traditional ones. With the can itself representing one of the largest costs for food makers, switching to an alternative likely would boost prices and hurt consumers — especially the legions of coupon-clippers struggling to make ends meet.

More about BPA:

The Real Story Behind Bisphenol A

BPA is dangerous to human health. Or it is not. That's according to two government reports in recent months that came to opposite conclusions.

Related seed: Doctor and Patient - Teaching Doctors About Food and Diet - NYTimes.com