BPA-Free Canned Beans: Brands, Linings and What We'd Buy
In the 2016 Buyer Beware survey, 27 of 38 bean cans (71%) had a BPA epoxy lining. In the can makers' own 2020 survey, we counted no BPA epoxy in any bean can. The change is real, but what replaced BPA is mostly not named, and only a few bean makers say anything about their cans on their own sites.
Eden is the only bean maker we found whose own site says its whole canned-bean line is BPA-free, and it dates that to April 1999. Amy's says its cans contain no BPA and names the lining (acrylic on the body, polyester on the lid); its canned beans are refried beans and a vegetarian baked bean, and we considered only the refried. Three 365 by Whole Foods Market bean pages say "BPA-free" or "non-BPA" lining, each for that product only. Trader Joe's and Kroger make company-wide statements. For Bush's we found no lining statement, the only Goya statement we found is a reply on a Target page, and Progresso says it provides "non BPA-lined cans" without saying which. None of that is evidence that a can has a BPA lining; it means the maker has not written it down where we could read it. We picked five products and listed every one we considered, including the ones that did not make it.
On your shelf: what the maker says about the lining
These are national and store brands we found at major US grocers and in the 2016 and 2020 can surveys. We could not find a public sales ranking, so this is not a best-seller list. Each row is the maker's own wording from its own site unless it says otherwise, with the date we read it. "No BPA" tells you what is not in the lining. It does not tell you what is.
- Bush's Best canned beansStatement missing, partial, or not on the maker's site
- Bush Brothers & Company's FAQ on bushbeans.com has no question about cans or linings, and we found no BPA or lining statement elsewhere on its site. The 2020 Can Manufacturers Institute survey recorded a polyester body and end on one Bush's black bean can bought at a Seattle Target (best-by December 2021). To ask Bush's directly, its FAQ lists Consumer Relations at 1-800-590-3797. Source (checked )
- Goya canned beansStatement missing, partial, or not on the maker's site
- We found no BPA or lining statement on the goya.com and shop.goya.com pages we could open. On a Target product page for Goya Black Beans, a reply from an account named "ConsumerAffairs Goya", undated and about three years old by Target's relative date, says: "Goya Foods does not use BPA to line our canned goods. This product is BPA free." That is a retailer Q&A reply, not Goya's own site, and it names no lining material. The 2020 Can Manufacturers Institute survey recorded a polyester body and end on one Goya black bean can bought at Target (best-by July 2024). Source (checked )
- Progresso canned beansStatement missing, partial, or not on the maker's site
- Progresso's own values page says, under "Non-BPA lined cans": "To satisfy all our consumers, we provide non BPA-lined cans." General Mills' Progresso brand page says: "We offer recyclable cans, non-BPA lined cans and more." The values page continues: "While scientific and government bodies worldwide agree that BPA-lined cans do not pose a risk to your health, we aim higher." Neither page says whether every product is included, names beans, or names the lining, and neither is dated. The Progresso black bean, chickpea and kidney bean product pages we read say nothing about the lining. Source (checked )
- Van Camp's and Rosarita (Conagra)Maker says its cans are not BPA-lined
- Conagra's FAQ says: "All food made in Conagra Brands' facilities in the U.S. and Canada after July 30, 2015 is in non-BPA lined packaging." The same FAQ says the packaging is not labeled as non-BPA, and lists exceptions: a small quantity of imported BPA-lined cans, some contract-manufactured products, and newly acquired brands. A July 30, 2015 release (read in an archived copy; the live page returns an error) names polyester or acrylic coatings and lists Van Camp's beans; it does not name Rosarita. This is a company-wide statement; we found no lining statement on a Van Camp's or Rosarita product page, and we found no lining statement on any Van Camp's or Rosarita SmartLabel page we could read (Conagra's SmartLabel home says "Coming Soon"). Source (checked )
- Trader Joe's canned beansMaker says its cans are not BPA-lined
- Trader Joe's FAQ lists "ALL Canned Beans, Fruits & Vegetables" under "Packages with No Intentionally Added BPA to Interior Linings." That is "no intentionally added," not "BPA-free," and the FAQ names no lining material and shows no date. The 2020 survey recorded polyester on one Trader Joe's organic black bean can and one organic pinto can. Source (checked )
- 365 by Whole Foods Market canned beansStatement missing, partial, or not on the maker's site
- The statement is on individual product pages and is not consistent. The Organic Garbanzo Beans page says "Non-BPA lining", the Dark Red Kidney Beans No Salt Added page says "Easy-open can with BPA-free lining", and the Unsalted Garbanzo Beans page says "BPA-free lined can." The Organic Black Beans, Organic Pinto Beans and Organic Refried Pinto Beans pages we read say nothing about the lining. The 2020 survey recorded an acrylic body and polyester end on one 365 bean can. Source (checked )
- Great Value canned beans (Walmart)Statement missing, partial, or not on the maker's site
- We found no lining statement on the Great Value Black Beans, Organic Black Beans or Organic Pinto Beans pages on walmart.com. The 2020 survey recorded an acrylic body and polyester end on eight Great Value bean and chickpea cans bought in Washington State. Source (checked )
- Kroger and Simple Truth canned beansMaker says its cans are not BPA-lined
- Kroger's July 2021 Safer Chemicals Statement says it has "transitioned 100% of our canned food products away from BPA-lined cans." That is five years old, covers Our Brands canned food in general, names no lining material and does not say "BPA-free." The Simple Truth Organic Black Beans page we read says nothing about the lining. The 2020 survey recorded polyester on six Simple Truth Organic bean cans, and on three Kroger-brand black bean cans a body coating it calls "non-BPA epoxy" without defining it. Source (checked )
- Good & Gather canned beans (Target)Statement missing, partial, or not on the maker's site
- We found no lining statement on the Good & Gather Organic Low Sodium Black Beans product page, and no statement from Target about can linings. Source (checked )
- ALDI Simply Nature canned beansMaker says its cans are not BPA-lined
- ALDI's food-philosophy page says it labels "all products that do not contain BPA" with a "Non-BPA lining" symbol, and "If you want to avoid BPA, you can confidently shop our Simply Nature and Little Journey brands." The page is undated. We could not read a Simply Nature bean product page, so we did not see the symbol on a bean can. The statement does not cover ALDI's other canned-bean labels; Chef's Cupboard and Season's Choice are not named. Source (checked )
Brands in this guide
- Eden2 picks
- Amy's1 pick
- Jovial1 pick
- 365 by Whole Foods Market1 pick
Our picks
Cheat-sheet winners
The winners from our cheat sheet, each chosen for one job.
Best overall: beans
Eden Organic Pinto Beans
Eden Organic beans — the BPA-free can change this list was built on, and it covers beans specifically.
Ingredient panel checked · source
$3.99View on Amazon
Best for weeknight black beans
Eden Organic Black Beans
Eden Organic black beans — the same three-ingredient panel and lining position as the pinto, in the can most weeknight meals reach for.
Ingredient panel checked · source
$3.49View on Amazon
What the two surveys found
Two surveys, four years apart, tell the story of what changed in bean cans.
- 2016, Ecology Center and partners (Buyer Beware): 192 cans from 22 stores, of which 38 were plain beans. 27 of the 38 (71%) had a BPA epoxy lining in the body or lid, against 67% of all cans. Where there was no BPA epoxy, the report says the most common coatings on bean cans were oleoresin and polyester. Of the national bean brands it tested, it says all had BPA epoxy "except for Eden Foods, which uses oleoresin in bean cans"; Eden's one tested can was a cannellini.
- 2020, Can Manufacturers Institute: 234 cans in Seattle and Yakima, sampled in late February and early March 2020. CMI reports two cans with a BPA-based liner among all 234, both imports and neither a bean can. We counted the bean and chickpea rows in its raw data ourselves: none of the 36 we found had a BPA epoxy lining. CMI did not publish that bean count. The liners it recorded were polyester, an acrylic body with a polyester end, and a class it calls "non-BPA epoxy" without defining it. CMI is the can makers' trade association, so read this as an industry measurement, not an independent one.
Both are snapshots of one or two cans per product, in the case of the 2020 survey in two Washington cities only. They identify the class of lining. Neither measured BPA in the food or what moves out of any lining, and the 2016 report says plainly that "there is a great deal we do not yet know" about the substitutes. So "no BPA" tells you what is missing from the lining; what the lining is, on a given bean can, is something to look up and not assume.
Three swaps: a can with a stated lining, a glass jar, or dried beans
If the lining is what you are trying to avoid, there are three routes.
- A can whose maker names or stands behind the lining. Eden says BPA-free since 1999 and has changed its lining once since (late 2016 to 2017); Amy's names acrylic and polyester; 365 says BPA-free or non-BPA lining on three bean pages. Eden and 365 do not name the lining material; Amy's does. All three statements are the maker's own, not lab results.
- A glass jar. Jovial's jars have no can lining. The lid is the part to ask about: Jovial says "BPA-free lids" and does not name the coating.
Dried beans have no lining at all; see the dried-bean question in the FAQ below. We also looked at a carton: Jack's Quality Beans sells black, kidney and garbanzo beans in Tetra Recart cartons, which Tetra Pak describes as six layers (four polypropylene, one aluminum, one paperboard). The maker's site makes no BPA statement and showed all five products out of stock when we looked, so it is not a pick.
Every bean product we looked at
Read on each maker's or retailer's own pages on 2026-10-23 unless the row says otherwise. The last column gives the reason, not a judgment of the product.
| Product | Package | What the maker says about the lining or lid | Pick, or why it is not one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden Organic pinto, 15 oz | Steel can | "BPA, BPS, and phthalate-free" since April 1999; lining changed in late 2016 to 2017 and the new one is not named | Top pick |
| Eden Organic black, 15 oz | Steel can | Same | Runner-up |
| Amy's Organic Refried Black Beans | Steel can | "The can body is lined with acrylic, and the can lid is lined with polyester" (Amy's cans generally) | Runner-up |
| Jovial Organic Chickpeas, 13 oz | Glass jar | "BPA-free lids"; coating not named | Runner-up |
| Eden kidney, garbanzo, refried pinto and black (15 and 16 oz) | Steel can | Same as Eden pinto | Same maker; we read the labels (30 to 50 mg sodium plain, 270 to 300 mg refried) but did not source them |
| Jack's Quality black, kidney, garbanzo | Carton | No BPA statement on the maker's site | No statement; all five products out of stock on the maker's shop |
| Westbrae Natural black, garbanzo, kidney, pinto | Steel can | No lining statement on the maker's site; retailer listings say "non-BPA lining" | Statement is retailer copy only (the brand has been owned by Bush Brothers since December 2022, per Hain Celestial's release) |
| Natural Value pinto, garbanzo, cannellini, refried black | Steel can | One product page says "non-BPA can lining" | One page; lining not named; we could not read its label |
| Trader Joe's canned beans | Steel can | Undated FAQ: "no intentionally added BPA" for all canned beans | Company-wide, "no intentional addition"; sold only in Trader Joe's stores, and the FAQ is undated and names no lining material |
| 365 by Whole Foods Market | Steel can | Three bean pages say BPA-free or non-BPA lining; three say nothing | Runner-up (Dark Red Kidney, No Salt Added). The Unsalted Garbanzo page also says BPA-free lined can; we did not source it. The three silent pages are not picks |
| Publix GreenWise Organic (black, pinto, garbanzo) | Steel can | "The lining of the can was produced without the intentional addition of BPA" | "No intentional addition"; sodium not verified |
| O Organics and Signature Select (Albertsons) | Steel can | "Non BPA lining" with a footnote saying "without the intentional addition of BPA" | "No intentional addition"; per SKU |
| Kroger and Simple Truth | Steel can | July 2021: "transitioned 100% of our canned food products away from BPA-lined cans" | General and five years old |
| Great Value (Walmart) | Steel can | No statement found on the pages read | No statement |
| Good & Gather (Target) | Steel can | No statement found | No statement |
| ALDI Simply Nature | Steel can | Policy page names the brand and a "Non-BPA lining" symbol | Could not read a bean product page |
| Bush's Best (black, pinto, chickpea, kidney, refried) | Steel can | No statement found on the maker's site | No statement |
| Goya (black, pinto, chick peas, kidney, refried) | Steel can | No statement on the maker's site; a reply on a Target page says "BPA free" | Statement is a retailer Q&A reply |
| Progresso (black, chick peas, kidney) | Steel can | Brand page: "non-BPA lined cans", products not named | Not specific to beans |
| Van Camp's, Rosarita (Conagra) | Steel can | Company-wide: non-BPA lined packaging after July 30, 2015 for US and Canada plants | No product-page statement; Van Camp's pork and beans has 6 g added sugars, Rosarita refried has lard |
| Old El Paso, Ortega, La Costeña refried | Steel can | No statement found | No statement; Ortega and La Costeña list lard |
| Del Monte, Libby's | — | Not applicable | Neither sells plain black, pinto, kidney, chickpea or refried beans on its site; green, wax and lima only |
| Randall (glass jars) | Glass jar | No lid statement found | No statement; the recipe adds sugar |
What this page cannot tell you
We read statements, not cans. Nobody on this page has tested a finished bean product for BPA, and neither survey above measured how much, if anything, moves into the food. Where a maker says "no BPA," that is what we quote. A few specifics are worth keeping in mind:
- Lining statements age. Conagra's is from 2015, Kroger's from 2021, Trader Joe's FAQ is undated, and Eden changed its lining in 2017. A brand can change its supplier without changing its website.
- Brand-wide statements are not always product-wide. Where the scope is one SKU or a whole company, the table says so.
- Some cans carry added sugar or preservatives. Bush's dark red kidney beans list 2 g added sugars, and Bush's pinto and several Goya and Progresso beans list calcium disodium EDTA, a color retention additive. We note it only for readers who prefer shorter labels. Eden and Amy's labels carry no added sugar.
- Prices and stock change. Eden's pinto listing showed limited stock when we read it. The Jovial and Amy's listings are multi-packs.
For what else to do about canned food in general, see the BPA-free canned food cheat sheet and our explainer on BPA.
Our top pick
Eden Organic pinto beans, 15 oz. Eden's FAQ says: "Since April of 1999 the cans for EDEN canned beans have been BPA, BPS, and phthalate-free." Eden also says it changed to an "improved" lining in 2017 and does not name the current lining; the 1999 lining it describes was oleoresin. Eden's own test claim has not been independently checked, and neither survey on this page tested Eden's current lining. Ingredients: organic pinto beans, water, kombu seaweed. Per ½ cup: 15 mg sodium, under 1 g sugar, 0 g added. U.S. organically grown, per Eden.
Also worth considering
Eden Organic black beans, 15 oz, the same maker statement and the same three-ingredient label as the pinto: organic black turtle beans, water, kombu. 15 mg sodium per ½ cup, 0 g added sugar.
Ingredient panel checked · source
Amy's Organic Refried Black Beans, a 12-pack on this listing. Amy's FAQ names the lining: "The can body is lined with acrylic, and the can lid is lined with polyester," and says it does not contain BPA, BPS, BPF, BADGE, NOGE or BHT. That is a statement about Amy's cans generally, undated, not about this SKU. Label: 440 mg sodium and 2 g sugars (0 g added) per ½ cup, with onions, bell peppers, tomato purée and safflower or sunflower oil. Amy's pages do not give net weight or where the beans are canned; the listing says 15.4 oz.
Ingredient panel checked · source
Jovial Organic Chickpeas, 13 oz, a 6-pack on this listing. Jovial sells these in a glass jar, so there is no can lining; its product page says "Packed in glass jars with BPA-free lids" and does not name the lid coating or cite a test. Ingredients: organic chickpeas, water, sea salt. 200 mg sodium and 0 g sugars per ½ cup. Grown in Italy, per Jovial. The listing itself does not say glass; Jovial's page does. Jovial's own store listed the chickpeas at $4.29 a jar on 2026-10-23; the 6-pack listing we link works out to about $5.50 a jar.
365 by Whole Foods Market, Dark Red Kidney Beans, No Salt Added, 15.5 oz
Ingredient panel checked · source
365 by Whole Foods Market Dark Red Kidney Beans, No Salt Added, 15.5 oz, our kidney bean pick. Whole Foods' product page says "Easy-open can with BPA-free lining"; 365 is Whole Foods' own brand, so the retailer's page is the statement, and it covers this SKU only (we found no corporate 365 statement, and the page does not name the lining). Ingredients: prepared dark red kidney beans, water. 5 mg sodium per ½ cup. Whole Foods is an Amazon company; the page we read is wholefoodsmarket.com.
What the label words do and do not tell you
- "BPA-free" or "non-BPA" on its own — It is the maker's statement about what is not in the lining, not a lab result, and it does not say what is. Amy's names acrylic and polyester; most others name nothing, and the two surveys on this page recorded polyester, acrylic and oleoresin on bean cans.
- "No intentionally added BPA" — That is what Trader Joe's, Publix and Albertsons' store brands say. It means BPA was not used to make the lining. Like "BPA-free," it is the maker's statement, not a lab result.
- "Organic" — Organic describes the beans, not the can. In the 2016 survey most organic bean cans were non-BPA, but one of the ten had a BPA epoxy lining, so the word alone did not settle it.
- A "BPA-free" line on a retailer's product page — For a store brand the retailer owns the product, so its page is the maker's statement, but only for that one SKU. 365 prints the line on three bean pages and not on three others.
- A glass jar with a metal lid — The jar has no lining question; the lid does. Jovial says "BPA-free lids" without naming the coating. Trader Joe's undated FAQ says: "All metal lids DO have a layer of BPA coating, but there is coating of another material put on top of the BPA coating," and that test results from multiple suppliers show no BPA detected from the lids. That is the company's statement, not our test.
How we choose
A bean product earns a pick here when the maker has written down something specific about the part that touches the food, we read it on the maker's own page, and the package is a can with a stated lining position or a glass jar. We quote the wording rather than turn "no intentional addition" into "BPA-free." Every brand we seriously considered is in the table below, including the ones that did not make it, with the reason. We also pick only products sold by a retailer we can link to, which is also how we are paid (see the disclosure); that is why store-only brands such as Trader Joe's are in the table and not among the picks.
- The maker's own page says what the lining or lid is (or is not), and we read it on that date
- Scope is clear: this SKU, this brand, or all canned foods
- Exact label read: ingredients, sodium, sugar
- In stock from a seller we can name and link to
- No open recall found for the pick
Every source we cite is checked against our criteria first — see how we check our sources.
What the research says
A flexible 9-day road map for safely introducing top allergens
— Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN told BenBella Books (distributed by Simon & Schuster), ISBN 9781637745359 that ...
Safe and Simple Food Allergy Prevention: A Baby-Led Feeding Guide to Starting Solids and Introducing Top Allergens — BenBella Books (distributed by Simon & Schuster), ISBN 9781637745359 (2024-11-12)
the tactile investigation of food is part of development - it's necessary, productive and speeds up the learning curve.
— Jill Castle, MS, RDN told The Washington Post that ...
Let picky eaters play with their food, and don't force 'thank you' tastes — The Washington Post (2018-11-01)
When a child's appetite is ignored, he or she may lose the ability to regulate his or her own internal hunger and fullness cues
— Jill Castle, MS, RDN told CNN that ...
Of the four parental 'feeding styles,' only one is good for kids' health, experts say — CNN (2018-10-04)
Sources
- Buyer Beware: Toxic BPA and Regrettable Substitutes in the Linings of Canned Food (Ecology Center et al., 2016) — Ecology Center et al. (how we check this source)
- Washington State Canned Food Market Basket Survey (Can Manufacturers Institute, 2020) — Can Manufacturers Institute
- Eden Foods — FAQ: Do EDEN bean cans contain BPA, BPS or phthalates? — Eden Foods
- Eden Foods — Eden Pioneered Bisphenol-A (BPA) Avoidance in April 1999 — Eden Foods
- Eden Foods — Organic Pinto Beans, 15 oz — Eden Foods
- Amy's Kitchen — Is your can lining non-BPA? — Amy's Kitchen
- Jovial Foods — Organic Chickpeas — Jovial Foods
- Conagra Brands — ConAgra Foods Removes BPA from Cans across Portfolio (July 30, 2015; archived copy) — Conagra Brands
- Conagra Brands — FAQ (BPA) — Conagra Brands
- Progresso — Values (Non-BPA lined cans) — General Mills
- General Mills — Progresso brand page — General Mills
- Hain Celestial — Completes Sale of Westbrae Natural Brand (Dec. 15, 2022) — The Hain Celestial Group
- Bush Brothers — FAQ — Bush Brothers & Company
- Trader Joe's — Product FAQs (BPA) — Trader Joe's
- Kroger — Safer Chemicals Statement (July 2021) — The Kroger Co.
- Health Canada — Lectins in legumes (kidney beans) — Health Canada
- University of Illinois Extension — Kidney beans and slow cookers (Feb 29, 2024) — University of Illinois Extension
Side by side
| Attribute | EdenOrganic Pinto Beans | EdenOrganic Black Beans | Amy'sRefried Black Beans | JovialOrganic Chickpea Beans | 365 by Whole Foods MarketDark Red Kidney Beans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why it's here | Our top pick | — | — | — | — |
| Price | $3.99 | $3.49 | $64.68 | $32.99 | $1.09 |
| Availability | Check retailer | In stock | In stock | In stock | In stock |
Common questions
Cheat sheets for this
Part of the BPA & Canned Food hub— the rest of our coverage in this category.
Every bpa-free canned foodproduct we've reviewed— what we'd buy, what we'd skip, and where each one stands.