The hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is found in high levels in canned food, there is a coalition of environmental groups has warned, sparking warnings from some doctors that pregnant women should avoid such products.

“Fresh fruits and vegetables may be more expensive, but I believe that the risk is too high not to spend the extra,” said BPA researcher and obstetrician Hugh Taylor of Yale University, who advises pregnant women to avoid canned food.

BPA is an industrial chemical used to make plastic hard, as in water and infant bottles, and also to make liners for food and beverage cans. It has been strongly established as an estrogen mimic that disrupts the endocrine (hormonal) system, with potentially serious effects on development, the reproductive system and the brain. The U.S. National Toxicology Program recently ruled prenatal and childhood exposure to the chemical a cause for concern, prompting the FDA to revisit its decades-long stance that BPA is safe. The EPA has also declared it a chemical of concern.