A federally unregulated industrial chemical considered by consumer advocates to be dangerous to human health has been found in 90% of canned foods sold in the United States. A study by the National Work Group for Safe Markets randomly examined 50 cans from 19 states (and one province in Canada) and discovered virtually all of the foods contained bisphenol A (BPA), which has been tied to cancer, reproductive abnormalities, diabetes and birth defects in laboratory animals.

One can in particular—of Del Monte French Style Green Beans from a store in Wisconsin—had the highest level of BPA ever recorded: 1,140 parts per billion. Other canned foods with unusually high levels of BPA were Walmart’s Great Value Green Peas, purchased in Kentucky; and Healthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup bought in Montana.

But the group conducting the study could not say how bad 1,140 parts per billion was, because the federal government hasn’t established federal standards for BPA. Environmentalists thought Lisa Jackson , head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , would go about setting safe limits for BPA in food. But after chemical industry lobbyists met with officials at the White House in December, the EPA decided to wait at least another two years before regulating the chemical.

-Noel Brinkerhoff