BPA-Free Cans and Tomatoes

Some of you may not be aware, but cans are leached with BPA. In general, I try to buy either fresh or frozen as much as possible, but let's admit it - cans are easier at times when you're trying to throw a meal together. I cook dinner at home at least six out of the seven days, so am always on the lookout for safer food options for my family. While, I have tried my best to steer away from cans, there are typical canned items I absolutely love to use in my cooking: canned beans, canned tomatoes and broth. The canned beans issue was solved by Eden Organics as they are the only company I know of thus far that provides beans in a BPA-free can. I ensure to only purchase Eden Organics beans and they are easily available at my local Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods. I did find a limited supply at my local King Soopers.

However, canned tomatoes was a different story altogether. In fact, my understanding is that tomatoes are the worst culprits because of the acidity, they actually leach more BPA than even beans. Tomatoes aren't always in season and any chef will probably admit that throwing in crushed or diced can of tomatoes is so much easier than using fresh especially in soups, chillies and sauces. At first, I thought the glass version of tomatoes was better, so started buying these though limited in options and they were expensive. I then discovered that there is BPA in the lids of the glass jars. Geez, can we get away from this BPA stuff??? Well, I finally found a product at my local Vitamin Cottage that has put my mind at ease. Pomi Tomatoes provides tomatoes in a carton and are 100% natural. The ingredients list is : tomatoes. That's it!
I was a little skeptical about the packaging, but I did some research on the web and everything I read said that this tetra-pak is BPA free. There are actually different versions of tomatoes Pomi packages (crushed, chopped, strained); however, my store only has the chopped. So, I just use chopped tomatoes for everything. I love the taste and feel great knowing that there isn't BPA in my food. I also noticed last week, that Whole Foods has started carrying this brand of tomatoes as well.

On another note, I've now tried to ensure any broth or soups I buy are also in this tetra-pak packaging. There are quite a few options for tetra-pak broths, but not soups. Pacific Natural Foods has come up with a lot more soup varieties including condensed soup versions like Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery and Cream of Chicken which is often used in a variety of recipes.
I'm feeling a lot more comfortable serving safer BPA-free meals as more companies come up with BPA free packaging options for these pantry staples. Next time your in the supermarket, think twice about that can and see if there is fresh, frozen, BPA-free can, or tetra-pak packaging option for that item. Perhaps if more of the BPA free options are sold, companies will get the hint that we the consumers wants a change and start making BPA free options more available as the above mentioned companies have.

Please note that I am not affiliated nor have received any endorsements from any of these companies. The information here is from my own personal experience and research when searching for BPA free food items for my family.

Xtrema Cookware - A Consumer Review

I'm always on the lookout for healthy kitchen items that are safe to use in my home and when I found Xtrema Cookware by Ceramcor, I was excited beyond belief to try this new healthy cookware.  Finally, a company has surfaced that has taken the time to create cookware that is not only safe (meaning it doesn't leach any chemicals or metals), but is so versatile in its use. It can be used on the stovetop, in the microwave and in the oven.  I was excited to receive the 10" Skillet & Braiser and to put it to work in my kitchen.

The first thing I noticed was that this is a quality piece of cookware. It is a bit heavy, but it is ceramic.  The lid that comes with it is also ceramic.  I washed it up and realized how quickly it dried too.

First up, we cooked some mahi mahi fish filling for tacos and realized that it not only cooked well, but the non-stick claim definitely holds true and the fish didn't stick to the bottom of the pan at all.

Next up, I cooked up some butternut squash for my lasagna filling.  The orange looked so pretty in the Xtrema skillet. I cooked it on the stovetop using medium heat and then used the ceramic cover.

In twenty minutes, I had perfectly cooked squash.

While I was so excited about my skillet, I had forgotten to boil the lasagna noodles. So, the squash sat in the Xtrema skillet a little longer, with no heat from the stove. However, what amazed me was that the squash was still steaming even five minutes after turning off the heat.  Notice the steam in the photo -- the gas burner was not on and in fact had been off for at least 5-10 minutes as I waited for the noodles to cook.  The Xtrema skillet really does hold the heat well.

We used the skillet to cook up some leeks, another pasta dish and my husband even used it to cook up biryani, an indian dish, that started on the stovetop and then finished in the oven. We never had to cook on high with any of the dishes and cooked using medium heat on a gas stove with just some cooking at medium high heat.

I was really impressed at how well the Xtrema skillet cooked all the dishes we made.  Clean up is a breeze as the company claims and as I mentioned previously, it dries quickly too. When I cooked the pasta dish, I had forgotten about the company's recommendation of not using metal utensils (even though they state it won't scratch it) and I used my stainless pasta tongs to serve.  I scraped the bottom of the pan and was worried I had scratched it, but after cleaning realized it didn't scratch it at all again proving the Xtrema's claim.

One thing my husband mentioned to me was that the skillet was actually made in China. We've been trying to avoid Chinese made products for obvious reasons.  So, I asked the company directly about this and received an e-mail response from Bob Bergstrom, one of the Owners of Ceramcor.
He stated:

"Our Factory is outstanding and all products are Tested in China as well as the USA and all test results are on our website.  The future of our families depends on the success of our product and we have done more testing on our cookware than any other USA cookware company."  He also stated "There is not one company on the USA who could made our cookware.  We do not have the delicate skilled labor."

He also provided a link to manufacturing photos that showed the whole process of how the cookware is made.  Additionally, you can find the test results on the Ceramcor website which proves their statement of providing healthy cookware with no leaching chemicals and metals.

Overall, I was really impressed with the skillet and what this line of cookware represents. I'm already thinking about the baking line of cookware they have and the teapot. It's nice to know there are still companies that not only have the health interest of the consumer in mind, but still want to create a solid, quality product as well. Those companies seem to be few these days. In terms of it being made in China, I feel like the company addressed this head on in a positive manner. I do believe there are a select few companies such as Ceramcor that have the quality control in place over their manufacturing, and the test results to prove it which should put consumer's minds at ease.

If you're in the market for new cookware or bakeware and are concerned about ensuring your food tastes like it's supposed to without any leaching chemical or metals, definitely take a look at Xtrema Cookware.   You're not providing healthy food for your family if your cookware leaches metals and chemicals no matter what you cook.  I can't wait to see what future products Ceramcor comes out with for the Xtrema line of cookware.

Radon in your Home

Did anyone watch the Dr. Oz segment about hidden toxins in your home which aired a few days ago? The issue that caught my attention in particular was the radon gas emitting from granite countertops as this was news to me. Radon gas causes lung cancer. With granite countertops being the popular trend for kitchen remodeling and in our case we had it installed when our house was built I was shocked to hear this. We tested our basement a few years ago and it had a very high reading at a level of 16 (EPA recommends this number to be less than 4) which is not a good thing, so my husband put in a radon mitigation system. Our readings were zero for the three months after installing it. However, I never thought to test our kitchen/family room area thinking granite could be emitting high amounts of radon.

Obviously, this was of concern to me so I made a few phone calls yesterday to a couple of testing agencies in my area and to my local EPA. One guy was a certified radon tester and he said he would use a Geiger counter to test the radon on my counters and in the living area for $95.00. He said the alpha particles is what he would focus on which apparently is what would identify radon levels. However, he notes on his website that in his experience, of the granite he's tested, there have been few that measure above the EPAs recommendation.

My concern is that I had read that Geiger counters (which is what they used for Dr. Oz's show) are actually not very accurate in determining what is radon vs potassium or thoron. Apparently a high clicking could be identifying potassium which is of no concern. And, thoron is another gas similar to radon, but of smaller concern because it doesn't have the life-span that radon does. This is my quick summary on the use of Geiger counters, but you can read more about granite and radon on www.radon.com.

A gentleman from my local EPA did call me back and expressed that Geiger counters is a bad way to test radon on granite countertops and recommended I do the following:

1. Re-Test the basement using either a short-term ($15) or long-term kit ($25) depending on fast I wanted results. These can be ordered from the EPA website which also provide more information on radon testing your home.
2. Test the basement again since it's been more than two years since our last test to ensure our mitigation system was working properly and no leaks have developed.
3. Test the area near the kitchen (in our case our family room) and check radon levels to ensure it's less than 4. If they are greater than 4 then the granite could be an issue or the readings are higher than the basement.

I expressed to him that my father had a continuous radon monitor device which is what we used previously to check our radon levels in our basement. The EPA gentleman indicated that this actually is not an approved EPA device because the company has never let them ensure the device provides accurate readings. He also went on to express that these systems may be inaccurate because they need to be calibrated and this system doesn't calibrate. However, if I wanted to test with this system again, it would be fine as long as I use the short-term or long-term test to ensure that the readings are accurate.

I asked the difference between the short-term test and long-term and he expressed the short-term is a quick few day test to see the radon levels in your home. Keep in mind they could be higher in the winter since we're closed in more and not as much outside air circulates around the house. As far as I'm concerned I wouldn't want this to be high at any time. The long-term test provides an average of the levels of your home since you would monitor this longer. Both these tests need to be sent in and in a few days you would get a report.

He also stated that in most cases that granite is fine and this rumor about radon from granite started with the marble and quartz industry. But, they have found that some granite from certain countries are an issue. He mentioned Brazil. Well, our granite is tropical brown which my husband seems to remember to be from South America while I searched and determined it's from Saudi Arabia. I also found this article about testing the most popular granite (ours being one of them) and how it's not an issue. I'm sure if I did even more research, I find equal amount of cases on both sides. So, since I like to play it safe rather than sorry....

I did order the short-term test though my husband indicated we already had a couple of them received when he ordered our radon mitigation system. And, I plan to borrow the Siren System my dad has from him today so we can do some quick initial testing.

If you haven't checked your basement (if you have one), then this should be the first place you check. Radon tends to be more of an issue in the soil around your house and it tends to be higher in the basement. If you have granite countertops, then you might want to use a short-term test like me and test your area around the kitchen or wherever you have granite. By the way, I did ask about those specific granite radon test kits and the EPA said they didn't believe those are accurate, but didn't get specifics. My own conclusion is that granite does emit radon (it's a natural stone), and they don't want you to test the stone because it will be higher. They are more concerned with what actually gets in the air. I think if my room levels near and in the kitchen come out high or is higher than my reading in the basement then I might invest in that kit or call the certified radon specialist to verify. I'm just hoping the readings are low as I don't really want to replace my countertops. I'll keep you posted.

Crock Pot Dilema

With the cold winter days and my son's piano class occurring smack dab in the middle of dinner on Thursdays, I wanted to call it "Crock Pot Thursdays." So last week, I got out my All-Clad crock pot with ceramic insert and proceeded to make my chili. Unfortunately, I ended up throwing that chili out because I got a bad can of tomatoes. Luckily the Muir Glen company has graciously said they would replace the cans of tomatoes and reimburse me for the cost of my lost meal. Now, that's customer service.

Anyhow, typically my husband would be the one to clean up the crock pot since I cooked the meal, but today I was doing it so I didn't have bad chili sitting there all day. It was at this time I noticed a discoloration in my white ceramic pot. Now, I expected to see some gray scratches, as we accidentally used a metal utensil a few times, but now I was seeing purple looking splotches that did not look normal. Nor did it look like something that should happen to a crock pot we spent $199.00 on. Additionally, I noticed spider like vein discoloration on the edge of the pot as well. After having just read a bunch of articles on the internet about lead leaching from lots of dinnerware (this will be a separate post), I also stumbled upon the question of lead leaching from these ceramic crock pots many of us love to use. Well, it seems that they all leach some amount lead, it's just a matter of how much. So, thus I started my search for a lead free crock pot. I saw there was an Elite glass version, but many of the comments weren't great and that one was way too small for us. I liked the ones you could cook on the stove, but every single one I found used a non-stick interior and I don't want PFTE or any other toxic fumes to be swirling around my house. I already got rid of all my non-stick pans except for my All-Clad grill that I use on rare occasions on low heat. Then, I thought I could find one with a stainless insert thinking this is the safest material for cooking I know. Well, a stainless insert crock pot doesn't exist that I could find. However, if anyone can prove me wrong, then please do so.

I did however, find an Americraft (Kitchen Craft) Gourmet Slow Cooker 4qt that was all stainless that sat on a hot plate. It's basically similar to the West Bend slow cookers that were very popular. I thought hooray, I finally found one, but then I found out the price tag of $399. My husband about dropped his jaw. $400 for a pot on a hot plate! I couldn't exactly argue. Then we also determined that the 4 quart pot just really wasn't large enough especially if we wanted to have company over. So, I continued my search. I found Salad Master made a 5 quart stainless multi purpose cooker, but apparently someone said that was close to $900 and goes for around $400 on ebay. Yikes! Geez, can't I find a safe crock pot that doesn't leach any metal or toxins into my food for my family without having to spend a fortune. I continued my search and stumbled upon someone mentioning a company called Xtrema. They have developed a ceramic line of cookware that doesn't leach any metal into the food and is extremely resistant to withstand extraordinarily high heat. This looked like the kind of company I had been searching for, but their crock pot is still in the development stage. I communicated with the Founder, Rich Bergstrom who confirmed they are in the early stages of developing a crock pot/slow cooker for Xtrema. However, it will not be available till Christmas 2010.

So, what to do in the meantime...well, I'm getting rid of my All Clad cooker. I guess I expected more from All Clad and do not feel I got my money's worth. I did consider purchasing a crock pot that perhaps stated they did not leach lead. I noticed Hamilton Beach's website stated the following:

"Hamilton Beach specifications applicable to all slow cookers and their components (including the earthenware crocks) prohibits the product from containing any measurable amounts of lead. Furthermore, the factories that manufacture the earthenware crocks for Hamilton Beach are certified ceramic production facilities whose ceramic ware is deemed to satisfy FDA heavy metal requirements. Hamilton Beach takes all reasonable steps to ensure that the earthenware crocks accompanying our slow cookers provide safe and satisfactory service to our consumers."

However, this claim does not put my mind at ease as I want to know exactly the tests done and how much metal is really leached because as far as I'm concerned, none should be leached. And, we all know that FDA requirements aren't that stringent when it comes to metal limits hence why California came up with Proposition 65.

I did call DeLonghi because I liked their new 5 quart crock pot, but am still waiting on answer from them as their customer service rep did not know the lead content if it had any. I will post an update if I hear anything. And, I found another website that had an in depth conversation of various crock pots, but none really stood out to be safe and lead free. In fact that is the site I found the info regarding Xtrema. I have to admit that one thing I really liked looking at the Xtrema website is that they put the test results on their website showing how no metal leaches out of their cookware. I think this is great! Every company should do this, but then again if they did, many might loose business.

So, in the meantime, I'm going to make use and learn how to use the stainless pressure cooker my husband pleaded for me to get for a long time. We only do a few meals in it now, but we'll need to expand that to our ever so loved crock pot meals. My husband and I agree that we still would like a crock pot just for the added convenience of needing a meal all ready to go if we to be gone all day and wanted to return to a hot dinner waiting for us. However, we're willing to wait it out for this Xtrema crock pot. I just hope the pot is at least 5 quarts and it comes out soon!