It might be easy to dismiss the latest study about spiking one’s blood pressure by drinking soy milk from cans lined with bisphenol A (more commonly known as BPA). After all, serious hypertension is more likely to occur from the sodium contained in whatever food or beverage is in the can. But the new Korean soy milk study, involving taking the blood pressure of a relatively small number of women divided into groups — with one drinking soy milk from cans with BPA and the other from glass bottles — is a media hit in the U.S. Not getting much attention is the release of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2014 safety assessment for BPA, which continues to give it the green light for use in food packaging. FDA looked at approximately 300 studies involving BPA that were conducted from November 2009 to May 2013. The agency concluded that BPA is safe at current levels of exposure from food contact uses in cans and plastic bottles. FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) conducted the safety assessment. Two years ago, FDA did ban the use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups used by small children. And Canada banned the substance from children’s products in 2010 after declaring that it is toxic. The North American Metal Packaging Alliance Inc. (NAMPA), representing the nation’s canning industry, welcomed the news clearing the way for continued use of BPA. “The comprehensive review by FDA scientists should dispel any concerns regarding the safe use of BPA epoxy resins in canned food,” said Dr. John M. Rost, who chairs NAMPA. “Agency researchers could not have been more clear or definitive in their conclusion that an adequate margin of safety exists for BPA.” However, the Korean study is the first to suggest that BPA can quickly raise one’s blood pressure. Researchers in Seoul tested urine and blood pressure levels shortly after two groups of women drank soy milk, one group from glass bottles and the other from cans with BPA linings. Published in Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association, the Korean study raises questions about whether people with high blood pressure should avoid plastic containers and cans altogether because the women who drank soy milk from the cans experienced blood-pressure spikes and BPA was found in their urine. BPA linings in food containers have been used since the 1960s.