(May 18) -- The health hazards of bisphenol A are well documented, but now scientists report that the chemical used in the coating of cans to protect food from corrosion and bacteria is pervasive in the canned goods on our kitchen shelves. 
 
 
 
 Researchers collected 50 cans of food from pantries in 19 states and Ontario and analyzed them at a top food safety lab in San Francisco. BPA was found in 92 percent of the samples, according to a 24-page study called "No Silver Lining," which was released today by the National Workgroup for Safe Markets. 
 
 
 
 The top level of BPA was 1,140 parts per billion -- believed to be the highest level ever found in the U.S. It was detected in Del Monte French Style Green Beans from a pantry in Wisconsin, the report said. 
 
 
 
 Other high scorers included Walmart's Great Value Green Peas from a store in Kentucky, and Healthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup from a pantry in Montana, according to researchers from the coalition of more than 17 public and environmental health organizations. 
 
 
 
 "Our study details potential exposure to BPA from not just one can, but from meals prepared with canned food and drink that an ordinary person might consume over the course of a day," Mike Schade, a co-author of the study, told AOL News. 
 
 
 
 The investigator for the Center for Health, Environment & Justice added that the study showed that "real-life meals involving one or more cans of food can cause an individual to ingest levels of BPA that have been shown to cause health effects in laboratory animal studies." 
 
 
 
 The unopened cans of fruits, vegetables, beans, soups, tomato products, sodas and milk were sent to Anresco Laboratories to determine the concentrations of BPA in the food within the can. Only the food and not the packaging was tested. 
 
 
 
 The selection of canned food and drink represents a menu that an ordinary North American person might consume over the course of a day. 
 
 
 
 "It takes as little as one serving of canned foods to expose a person to levels of BPA that have been shown to cause harm in laboratory animals. This is especially troublesome if the person eating the canned foods is pregnant, because fetuses are especially vulnerable to BPA's effects," report co-author Bobbi Chase Wilding, organizing director of Clean New York, told AOL News. 
 
 
 
 Hundreds of studies -- by both government and academic researchers -- have shown that exposure of animals to low doses of BPA has been linked to cancer, abnormal behavior, diabetes and heart disease, infertility, developmental and reproductive harm, obesity and early puberty, a known risk factor for breast cancer. Also, BPA exposure is particularly of concern for pregnant women, babies and children. 
 
 
 
 The researchers warned that in addition to the risk of BPA in canned food, people are also exposed to the chemical composite in common products like polycarbonate water and baby bottles, 5-gallon water coolers, and printer inks, toners and thermal receipt paper (used by most gas stations and supermarkets) where BPA can rub off paper onto our hands and into our mouths. 
 
 
 
 What you pay for the food and where you buy it appears to have no impact on the presence of the contaminant. This study also shows that BPA levels in canned food cannot be predicted by the price of the product, the quality or relative nutrition value of the product, or where it was purchased. 
 
 
 
 In related action, Sen. Dianne Feinstein today repeated her demand for a ban on BPA in food and beverage containers. The California Democrat wants the ban included in the Food Safety Modernization Act, a bill moving through the Senate that looks at important external food contaminants like E. coli and salmonella, but not at packaging additives like BPA. ||||| At this point, no company wants to be caught with a BPA-filled product. The chemical, which is found in food and drink can linings, water bottles, computers, and other products containing plastic, can cause numerous health problems--it mimics estrogen, for example, and that can lead to infertility and even cancer. Now the National Workgroup for Safe Markets has come out with a report (PDF) claiming that canned foods, many of which are labeled as "healthy" or organic, contain an average of 77 parts per billion (ppb) of BPA. When the FDA last tested canned food in 1996, it found found an average of 16 ppb, or almost five times less than the average level of BPA found in the NWSM report. 
 
 The NWSM conducted its research on 50 donated food and beverage containers from 20 people located in 19 U.S. states and Ontario, Canada. Cans containing fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, soups, tomato products, sodas, and milk were submitted from kitchen cupboards, pantries, and straight from local chain grocery stores. An FDA-certified lab in San Francisco evaluated the concentrations of BPA in the food within the cans, with some upsetting results: BPA was found in 92% of the canned food samples. NSWM found no correlation between the age of the product and the amount of BPA in the food, and BPA levels couldn't be predicted by price, quality, or nutrition value of the product. 
 
 NWSM reports: 
 
 The highest level of BPA—1,140 part per billion (ppb), to our knowledge the highest level ever found in the U.S.—was detected in DelMonte French Style Green Beans from a participant’s pantry in Wisconsin. Other high scorers included Walmart’s Great Value Green Peas from a store in Kentucky, and Healthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup from a pantry in Montana. On average, the products contained 77.36 ppb of bisphenol A. 
 
 This doesn't mean that we should shun cans altogether. Instead, manufacturers could implement alternatives like metal can linings, polyester coatings, and even simple glass jars. They might have to, anyway, if legislation is passed to limit the amount of BPA in cans--not an unlikely event considering that the EPA recently added BPA to its chemical concern list. 
 
 Check out the full NSWM report below for more detailed information on the findings as well as a list of companies that are phasing out BPA. 
 
 [No Silver Lining]
– Beware those innocent-looking green beans and that mom-approved chicken noodle soup! Turns out not only plastic but canned goods—because of the coating used to protect food from corrosion and bacteria—contain disturbing levels of bisphenol A, a known carcinogen. A National Workgroup for Safe Markets test of 50 cans of fruit, vegetables, soup, beans, sodas, and milk from pantries all over the country found five times as much BPA as a similar FDA test in 1997, reports Fast Company. The chemical was present in 92% of the cans, tested by an FDA-approved lab, and the level of BPA didn't reflect age or price of the product. "It takes as little as one serving of canned foods to expose a person to levels of BPA that have been shown to cause harm in laboratory animals," one of the co-authors of the study tells AOL News, warning that it's especially dangerous for pregnant women, "because fetuses are especially vulnerable to BPA's effects."