"Worrying levels of BPA, an industrial chemical with suspected links to cancer, lurk inside canned soups and pasta targeted at American children, the Breast Cancer Fund said Wednesday."

"In a product testing report, the non-profit advocacy group -- which focuses on environmental causes of cancer -- said an average of 49 parts per billion of BPA, or bisphenol A, was detected in a dozen cans of food items tested."

"'Every food sample tested positive for BPA,' with Campbell's Disney Princess and Toy Story soups testing the highest,' said the group, which is pressing canned food producers to embrace alternatives to BPA.

Best known as a hardening agent in plastic bottles, BPA is also widely used to line the inside of metal cans, but a raft of scientific studies have pointed to a possible link with cancer and other illnesses.

Earlier this year, the European Union banned the use of BPA in the manufacture of baby bottles. Its use in infant food containers is also restricted in Canada as well as 10 US states."

AFP had the story September 21, 2011. [2]