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Comment by ratsmack | Hacker News Reader

Every "tin" can I have opened, for as long as I can remember, has a plastic coating inside. I've always wondered what material is being used for this coating. Plastic of one kind or another seems to be inescapable.

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I emailed Amy's Kitchen recently to ask what's in the lining of their soup cans. (I saw that they recently started labeling them as 'BPA free,' but I was concerned about BPS, etc.) Here's what they replied with:

"The inside of our cans are lined with a double-coated acrylic and polyester protective barrier made without BPA, BPS, BPF, BADGE or NOGE. It complies with the FDA requirements for direct food contact under the Code of Federal Regulations. You'll be glad to know that as of March 2012, all of our canned foods have this non-BPA lining."

I don't know enough to judge whether there's anything still worrisome in a "double-coated acrylic and polyester protective barrier" - but they didn't substitute BPA with BPS, at least.

If a tin can has a dent in it, they are not supposed to use it. Always check at the supermarket before you buy them as well.

The dent thing is minor. The only problem with a dent is it might have a small hole - that rarely happens though.

If it happened, the can would be bloated and smell, it would be obviously spoiled.

A dent has nothing to do with the lining.

Source? This sounds very urban legend. Most stores won't sell it as 'damaged stock' but they also reject many other products based entirely on external appearance regardless of whether they are fit for purpose or not.

Not urban legend more like common sense, botulism is possible if the can seal is broken.

Source? Just google it http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/77ffde83-dc51-4fdf-...

That's more about the attractiveness of the product than safety. Those dented cans are sold somewhere else. Here's such a place near where I grew up: http://www.npsstore.com/about

I don't know if they still do it now, but years ago I noticed that the major super markets will actually sell any canned item that has a dent at a reduced price.

That's is fact, not urban legend.

Yah, the lining is not good. Try to keep your usage of cans to a minimum.

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