When full search capabilities are restored, you should be able to access the original discussion on this issue, though Dave has already summarized most of the salient points. You might also try an advanced Google search, specifying this site or "forums.gardenweb.com" for access to earlier threads. It is well-known that Jarden lids (essentially all metal canning lids) do contain some BPA. I would agree that BPA is a concern and I hope further studies will arrive at recommendations for acceptable levels (if there are any). Meanwhile, home-canning, for the reasons Dave mentions, would seem to present minimal risk, particularly compared to the overwhelming majority of commercial tinned products. Any contact with the lid is transient (boil-up); during long-term storage, as Dave mentioned, the product is in contact with glass, not the metal flat. I have Weck jars and have used them, but I regard them as principally suitable for "boutique" canning. They are just too expensive for the average home food processor to rely upon for large-scale processing. In addition, for myself it would be unacceptably wasteful to discard all the jars I have acquired in a lifetime of canning and replace them with another line. In everything we have to weigh risk and benefit, so each person will have to decide this issue for him or herself. (I think I may check on the price of Weck stock, LOL.) Carol

I just canned tomatoes juice with the trueliving jars with bands and lids. 2/7 buckled. This is the second batch with these jars and lids/band that this has happened. They are not over filled, not over tightened, pressure goes down naturally and canner is not opened up for a while. i am in my 65 years old and have been canning since a teen. I have never had this happen before. will not buy this product again. I thought i would check the net to see if any one else is having this problem. I wish I had checked after the first batch.

Carol, There's no rhyme or reason to what they do or how they do it. That's based on the fact I always look at the jars in whatever Wal-Mart store I'm in, and no two of them do things the same way. I haven't seen the jars marked down at the Ardmore store yet this year, but some of the jars (though not all) are still marked down in Gainesville. So far, I've bought 18 cases at $6.00 per case, and I think that breaks down to 11 cases of half-pint quilted crystal jelly jars and 7 cases of wide-mouth pints. They were down to only 4 cases of half-pint jelly jars at the $6.00 clearance price the last time I looked last weekend, but they had gotten in a whole new shipment of jars and had completely refilled the once-almost-empty shelves. The new shipment? Those are back at full price. The clearance ones are on the end of another aisle near the canning aisle now, but not on the canning aisle. I expect that's so people won't think all the newly-arrived jars are on clearance. Is this not bizarre? If my memory is correct, they have done this in the past, and the jars that have just arrived will be on clearance in 2 or 3 months. I don't know why they do it this way. It isn't like new jars have a shelf life or a 'sell by' date like food products do. To me, it makes no sense to clear out perfectly good jars on sale just to replace them with identical jars at full price. As long as this store does it in this way, I'll buying the clearance jars. It seems like Ardmore normally puts them on sale briefly in the middle of the summer when they have regular shipments coming in and no place to put them, but I didn't make it up to Ardmore much this summer. I do remember seeing quart jars at a slightly reduced price there in July, but I don't can that much in quarts. Their price wasn't cut much either, I think it was cut 44 cents per case. Once they start really putting out more and more Christmas merchandise (the Gainesville store started putting Christmas stuff on the Garden Center shelves around Labor Day) in the store, they start clearing out lids, labels, pectin, etc. If I pay attention and always remember to check either the clearance aisle or canning aisle, I can get most all my canning supplies on clearance and rarely pay full price. My best guess it that the manager of each store decides what to clear out and when. In that case, I hope the manager of the Gainesville store stays there forever. I like finding deals on jars. Dawn

Thanks everyone! Carol, emailing them is a good idea. I will dig up their email address later today. I probably won't like their answer either but what do I have to lose? LOL We don't really have an older people community here... there's only one retirement home in our area and I have been going to their garage sales but haven't found anything that fit. I will continue to look. I like going to garage sale so that gives me another excuse to do that. Annie, I like the ideas of using the jars to keep beans and other non acidic items. I have a feeling that I may end up using them for just that. I probably will arrange the jars in a way to display the different colors of beans so they will all look pretty. :-) Lou, I don't know anything about volunteer fire companies. Obviously, we don't have them here. We have a local buy & sell paper called the Bargain Finder. I check their postings periodically and so far haven't found anything. Thanks again ladies. It's nice to belong to a great online community like this!