canned cherries in a factory

Del Monte Is Making This Huge Change to Its Products

As American consumers find themselves gravitating toward “natural” products, particularly non-GMO and BPA-free products, food industry veteran Del Monte is also taking a hint.

March 29, 2018 | Source: Fortune | by Lucinda Shen

As American consumers find themselves gravitating toward “natural” products, particularly non-GMO and BPA-free products, food industry veteran Del Monte is also taking a hint.

Following in the footsteps of other fellow seasoned food companies including Campbell Soup (CPB, +0.76%)and General Mills (GIS, -0.04%), the fruit cup and canned goods titan announced in a Tuesday press release that it too was jumping on the band wagon and converting to non-BPA packaging.

San Francisco-based Del Monte said it would move away from BPA packaging starting with the company’s fruit and tomato products, and nearly 100% of its vegetable products in May.

In recent years, consumers have clamored over the presence of BPA, or Bisphenol A, in bottles and food packaging due to studies which have shown that the chemical, which is often used to harden plastic and coat metal cans, can lead to health problems including cancer and brain damage. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration however says that BPA at current levels is safe.