Safe from SIGG

what’s in the news

BPA, the chemical you love to hate...

5 years ago most of us wouldn’t even have known what BPA was.  Bisphenol A is a compound found in polycarbonate plastics such as those commonly used in hard, reusable water bottles (NOT the disposable bottles you purchase at the grocery or convenience store – those are safe!) and baby bottles, and epoxy resins which are normally used to line metal containers to provide a layer between the food being contained and the steel or aluminum of the can or container.  BPA can be transferred from the epoxy or plastic into your foods and beverages, particularly at high heats.  So, for example, leaving a plastic water bottle in the car all day in the sunshine and then gulping it on your drive home (gross – warm water…)?  Not such a good idea.  How about heating up a tin of beans over the campfire?  Yum!  Cancer!  Well, not exactly…

Health Canada issued a release in 2008 (supported by other governments’ examining bodies) stating that: The current dietary exposure to

Reusable hard plastic bottles like these from Nalgene are now BPA-free...

BPA through food packaging is not expected to pose a health risk to the general population, including newborns and young children.

But this doesn’t mean you don’t want to limit your exposure to the stuff.  Plastics are associated with a higher incidence of hormone-related cancers like those of the breast and prostate.  And we love a health advisory, now don’t we?  BPA has been in the news more than that other nasty acronym, DDT.  As an aside, I’ll take a helping of BPA anyday over DDT… When news about BPA got big in 2008, manufacturers like SIGG and Klean Kanteen cashed in on the new consumer awareness by offering a safer alternative to the hard, reusable plastic bottles that were previously popular.

Here’s why SIGG is in trouble.  While they never actually stated that their water bottles were free of BPA, they did imply it.  Many of my clients use SIGG bottles and chose them, along with competing products like Klean Kanteen, specifically because they believed they were purchasing a product that was free of Bisphenol A and the associated health risks.  Here’s what SIGG originally stated with regard to BPA (or an implied lack thereof) in their bottles:

The proprietary SIGG bottle lining is a water-based, non-toxic coating that is baked into the interior walls and remains flexible and crack resistant for the life of the bottle. This special SIGG lining is not plastic – it is a micro-thin epoxy…Unlike common Lexan plastic water bottles (polycarbonate #7), which studies have shown over time may leach harmful chemicals like bisphenol – A (BPA), SIGGs have been thoroughly tested to ensure they are 100% leach-free and 100% safe! (SIGG 2007 Product Catalog)

And what does SIGG have to say now that the truth has come out about their bottle liner?  SIGG CEO Steve Wasik published a letter of apology earlier this week, claiming:

I learned that many of you purchased SIGG bottles – not just because they were free from leaching and safe – but because you believed that SIGGs contained no BPA. I learned that, although SIGG never marketed the former liner as “BPA Free” we should have done a better job of both clearly communicating about our liner as well as policing others who may have misunderstood the SIGG message.

So they don’t leach BPA.  But that doesn’t mean they don’t contain BPA.  And they do – in trace amounts.  This doesn’t mean your SIGG bottle is giving you cancer.  But it does mean you can do better.  If you use a stainless steel bottle not just for the convenience, cost savings and environmentally friendliness BUT to protect you from the harmless chemicals found in plastic and other bottles, you might be just a little bit annoyed.

Do you have a SIGG water bottle? The company is offering a replacement program so you can trade in your old bottle for a new SIGG bottle with a lining that is 100% free of BPA.  Visit the SIGG website to download the necessary shipping label and form.