I recently put a few glass jars with bales and rubber-looking gaskets
out with the teas and coffees at Home Green Home, where I work part-
time. They are square, and made in Italy, and hold (I think) 12
ounces). They also make smaller jars, and one size larger (not much--
about 16 oz). The supplier had them listed as storage jars in their
coffee and tea section, which is why we displayed them that way. When
unpacking them, I noticed they had directions for safe canning. SInce
they were expensive, I left them in the coffee/tea section and didn't
even tell my boss they seemed to have been made as canning jars
because of the price. But there are a few for sale at HGH, 215 the
Commons. Since the EU bans BPA and phthalates, the gaskets probably
are rubber. Because most of the jars in that line are even smaller, I
suspect they are meant for jams, chutneys, etc.
Margaret
On Jul 31, 2009, at 10:53 AM, Katie Quinn-Jacobs wrote:
Weck jars are a alternative to the American standard mason jar and
use rubber gaskets (100% natural rubber) to form the seal. Although
they are widely used in Europe, they are difficult to find here. I
get them from Lehman's mail order or directly through Weck and do a
small amount of my water bath canning using these every year. I was
initially attracted to them because they don't have throw-away
lids. All of the jar is reusable, though the rubber gaskets will
wear out with multiple uses or age.
The downside to the Weck jars is that they are expensive, non-
standard sizes (using metric), don't fit into preformed wire racks
and, last but not least, are not approved by the Nat'l Ctr for Home
Food Preservation.
Weck's website: http://www.weckcanning.com/
-- Katie Q-J
Margaret McCasland wrote:
Joel's context is important.
Hhowever I do worry that new non-rubber gaskets under heat may have
more BPA migrate than once all is cool and static.
I have totally stopped eating from BPS-lined cans: now I need to
write the companies and tell them so (I'm allergic to beans or I
would be buying Eden beans in BPA-free cans). Let's see how my
resolve is come February (time to freeze some summer magic).
Margaret
On Jul 30, 2009, at 10:22 AM, Joel and Sarah Gagnon wrote:
There are a lot of old bale jars out there, but the jar rubbers
are an increasingly scarce commodity. I standardized on regular
mason jars years ago, as have most home canners.
A little perspective is wanted here. The lid is a pretty small
part of the surface area of the enclosure, and normally it is not
in constant contact with the contents. I certainly wonder what bpa
is doing in there, but I doubt it is a serious concern. I'd be
much more concerned (and am) about commercial food cans where the
entire lining is bpa-containing and in contact with the food.
Joel
At 01:50 PM 7/29/09 -0700, you wrote:
Do they still manufacture the glass top jars with rubber rings?
The rubber probably has a lot of toxins in it as well, but there
is at least a rim of glass between the rubber and the contents.
George
--- On Wed, 7/29/09, Kristie <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Kristie <[email protected]>
Subject: [SustainableTompkins] BPA in home canning lids
To: [email protected]
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 7:26 PM
Hi to any fellow canners out there,
I've been doing some research on what food containers do and do
not contain BPA, and was pretty annoyed to find it's in Ball
canning lids. Please send an email to the parent company, Jarden
(which seems to make all canning lids on the market, Ball, Kerr,
etc -- as far as I can tell, there are no BPA-free alternatives),
at http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/contact_us/10.php asking
them to come up with a BPA-free version!
Wishing we didn't live in a world so infiltrated with toxins that
you have to worry about your own, home-canned food...
-Kristie
PS Please pass along to other canners! Maybe they will come up
with an alternative if they hear from enough of us.
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--
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