For those concerned about the presence of BPA in the lining of lids for home canning, we posted previously on identifying Ball’s new BPA-free lids by looking for the serial number on the boxes they come in. Since that post in May, two more tips for telling which lids are BPA-free have come up.
We found printed on the bottom of a case of Heritage Collection blue pint jars, the simple claim, “BPA Free” (above). We looked at cases of Ball jars at two different stores, and found that only the blue Heritage pint ones had this phrase printed on the cardboard. This raises the question of how to tell if the lids that come with recently purchased cases of jars are BPA-free.
A concerned reader (thanks, Canner!) alerted us to her own experience with Ball representatives, and passed on the information that BPA-free lids have “Made in USA” printed on them (above, right). When asked about this, Jardin responded:
That is correct. The lids will have “Made in USA” printed them. Those products will also have a production date code stamped on the outside of the package. Starting this summer, you will also see the “BPA Free” message start to appear on the front face of those packages.
When buying new jars, look for the silver lids with the design pictured above or replace the lids with BPA-free ones. If purchasing replacement lids, look for the serial number printed on the end of the box (below). For our canning friends in Canada, Livin’ La Vida LOCAphile’s comparison shows that Bernardin’s BPA-free lids can be identified by a tiny maple icon in the upper left-hand corner, and that the boxes also have a serial number.
Resources:
• Ball & Kerr/Jarden Home Brands
• Mastering Food Preservation: On BPA in Canning Lids, Diary of a Tomato
• Mastering Food Preservation: Ball’s BPA-Free Canning Lids, Diary of a Tomato
• Mastering Food Preservation: More on Identifying Ball’s BPA-Free Lids, Diary of a Tomato
• Home Canning, BPA-Free, A Gardener’s Table
• New BPA-Free Mason Jar Lids: Are They Really Safer?, A Gardener’s Table
• New BPA-free canning lids from Bernardin Canada, Livin’ La Vida LOCAphile
Update 8.1.13: From the Ball/Jarden website, under lid description, “Material: Tinplate Steel.”
Update 8.6.13: Update on composition of lid, from Ball/Jarden Customer Service: “In answer to your question, the lids are a tin-plated steel with a BPA-free modified vinyl, and the varnish is a modified epoxy.”
Diary of a Tomato 
Reblogged this on Livin' La Vida LOCAphile and commented:
I will have to go check for any new “BPA-free” labeling here in Canada.
Thanks! This is good information.
Thank you for letting us know!
I looked for the BPA-free lids after your first posting. No luck. They should be easier to find with the information. Great tips!
Hi, Annie! It’s hard to find the BPA-free lids in stores that don’t have enough turnover, and have been able to find the newer lids at Kitchen & Company at the Newington Mall. Hope that helps!
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You might want to check: BPA is often being replaced with BPS in many products. BPS is a very close chemical sibling and probably has the same nasty effects that BPA does at about the same levels. You know all those nice BPA free water bottles you got from Whole Foods? Yeah… BPS.
Thanks, Tarc, for calling BPS to our attention! I contacted Jardin about this for my original post on Ball’s BPA-free lids (see Resources above), and their response was that the lids specifically don’t contain BPS nor are enamel-lined, otherwise it’s still a guessing game. I noticed that Ball is now mentioning that the lids are BPA-free on Facebook, and their website now gives the detail that lids are “Tinplate Steel.”
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Just bought a case of regular mouth jars, and the box itself is labeled “BPA Free” The lids are the darker color, but don’t have the prominent circle in the middle…The boxes on the outside do have the serial number…the lids say ‘made in USA’ but the underside of the box does not indicate BPA Free. I’m assuming b/c they’ve now displayed the ‘BPA Free; prominently on the box, they are not printing it on the bottom. But the lack of indentation in the lid makes me wonder. LIke I said, they are darker, however. I purchased at Target.
Hi Toni, thanks for your information! Other than the blue jars, I’ve yet to see boxes of jars marked “BPA Free” where I live. Most of this information is to help identify lids that may be unmarked but produced after Ball changed their lid linings. The vacuum dot in the middle may look different, however, you can be assured that they are BPA-free if the box is labeled.
Why is it soooooooooo difficult to identify BPA-free jars? Because someone wants to continue to make profit from the BPA-containing jars.. The ‘made in the USA’ trick has no legal value to tell that it is BPA-free. The manufacturer has no scrupules. They hide information to the public. The slogan “BALL, THE BRAND YOU CAN TRUST” is a lie.
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