Rancher,
Thank you for this information. It is something that I had not considered and will keep this information filed away. I wonder if it is the plastic that they use for the sealing ring area, or was it the plastic coating on the entire lid?
I guess I'm not too worried about the BPA on the canning jar lids. From what I understand, the BPA is really only a leaching problem when the plastic gets hot - like pallets of bottled water sitting on the taramac at the army bases in Afganastan, or a bottle of water bouncing around in the back window of your car on a sunny day.
When it comes to canning:
#1 - it is only heated once - not sitting in a steam room leaching BPA continually.
#2 - the food is not normally in contact with the lid once the sealing process is complete.
#3 - it is a fairly small area that contains the plastic.
I can't afford to worry about it either, but hope the manufactures will find a solution at some time. If enough people show concern they are more likely to look for a solution.