The US grocery giant is moving to purge the chemical from can linings as soon as possible in response to growing customer concerns about the chemical, Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey told FoodProductionDaily.com.
The firm is also scrutinising the packaging of its other food products to discover if they contain BPA.
“While there is no conclusive scientific evidence that this minimal exposure to BPA in can linings poses any risks to consumers, Kroger has begun a process that we believe will result in the removal of BPA in the linings of canned goods in all of our corporate brand items,” said the firm in a statement.
Reasearch feasible alternatives
Dailey added that Kroger produces and sells three tiers of private label brands and that its supermarkets stock, on average, around 11,000 own label items.
The company said it recognised the transition would not happen overnight as its “suppliers and manufacturers are still researching and testing feasible alternatives”.
Dailey added: “This is a priority for Kroger and our process is underway. We are moving forward with the transition as quickly as possible.”
The company said it recognized that BPA was perceived as a “chemical of concern by some customers” and it was therefore also working to limit exposure to the substance in other areas.
Kroger, which operates under dozens of brand names and posted sales reaching US$83bn in 2010, has vowed to introduce non-BPA receipt paper across it operations by the end of this year.
Mounting pressure
Concern about the use of BPA in cans has begun to grow in recent months. Last month, two Swedish Government agencies proposed obliging food processing and packaging firms to submit a plan on how they intended to phase out use of the chemical in can linings. The proposal is currently under consultation - with the Government in Stockholm likely to make a decision early next year.
Three weeks ago, 26 per cent of Coca-Cola shareholders backed a resolution calling on the company to issue a report on how it was responding to BPA and the threat it could pose to the iconic brand.
The North American Metal Packaging Alliance (NAMPA) has acknowledged that the “race is on” to find alternatives to BPA – but that a viable and safe solution could be “years away”.