Containers for holding Food- Cambro Cam Squares! BPA Free or close to it . . .

Almost exactly a year ago I went on a cleaning frenzy in my kitchen and reorganized all my cupboards so that they would be more user friendly. Part of this redo included changing the containers that held my baking ingredients, and other food stuffs. A fellow food blogger and dear friend, Jenny of SimpleLifeLove had gotten me excited about doing this. I have continued to learned about Cambro containers (Cam Squares) and thought I would share what I've found out.

If you visit the Cambro web page you can click on a document on BPA that states Cambro's position on this issue. Here is an excerpt:

Bisphenol-A (BPA) can be found in products manufactured by Cambro with polycarbonate (CW) and high heat material (HP). BPA is not found in polypropylene or polyethylene storage containers or in most Cambro tumblers which are made from the resin SAN.

Recent news coverage has suggested that all plastic containers and bottles labeled with the number “7” contain BPA. While all polycarbonate plastics containing BPA are labeled with the number “7” recycling category, not all number “7” contain BPA. Based on the combination of materials used, some of our products that do not contain BPA fall into category “7” for recycling.

I've talked with Nate Strong of Cambro regional intermountain west office who led me to the customer service number for Cambro 1 (800) 833-30030, who got me in contact with Gary L. Stephens of Cambro's office of Quality Assurance. We discussed the entire line of Cambro products. I've also received an email from Bruce Hutain from Cambro stating "The “non-BPA” plastic solution for most storage requirements can be achieved with containers made with polypropylene or polyethylene. Neither contains BPA, and both are recyclable. "

Bottom line --- If you want to avoid BPA, do not purchase anything that is polycarbonate if you are planning on storing food in that container.

So, yes the containers I have are not clear, they are translucent and are made from polyethylene but I can sleep through the night knowing that they are the closest I can get to being BPA free.

Having worked with the two books Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day I knew that I would want to use one of these Cambro containers to hold the dough. I have chosen the square 6 quart, 5.5 liter (order number Cambro 6SFSP for container, and for the lid SFC6). The 6 qt. containter should run about $8 and the lid $4. They can be ordered on line here or purchased at a local restaurant equipment supply house. The trick may be finding them in stock!