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If you switched from a Nalgene bottle to a metal SIGG bottle, check the color of the inside of the bottle. If you purchased your SIGG bottle before last summer, you may be drinking out of a bottle lined with a compound containing bisphenol A (BPA).
The CEO of SIGG Switzerland just circulated a letter regarding this phenomenon. Prior to August 2008, SIGG manufactured its bottles with a liner containing trace amounts of BPA on the belief that it was safe so long as BPA did not leach into fluid contained in the bottle, CEO Steve Wasik says. And the company confirmed that impossibility through research, the letter says. That was the standard at the time, Wasik writes.
Beginning in August 2008, SIGG produced bottles with an EcoCare liner that does not contain BPA, following two years of research and $1 million invested in new equipment.
The older liners were tested and showed zero percent leaching of BPA, he says. However, during the last year the concern over BPA has evolved from leaching to the mere presence of BPA, prompting Wasik to address the public.
Light Or Copper-Colored
To determine whether your bottle contains the older liner, look inside and check the color; if the liner is light you have a newer bottle with a new liner; if the liner is copper-colored it was made prior to SIGG’s switch to its EcoCare liner and contains trace amounts of BPA, according to Wasik’s disclosure.
The SIGG website shows a visual comparison so you can be sure. The site will also provide updated information on independent laboratory testing.
The new liner is a powder-based, co-polyester coating that has been thoroughly tested and certified to be 100 percent free of BPA, phthalates, BADGE, BFDGE, and NOGE, Wasik promises.
“It is also environmentally friendly as its application generates virtually no waste and utilizes no organic solvents or VOCs. Our new bottle liner is not only a technological advance; it’s a major step forward in SIGG’s journey towards sustainability,” he explains.
Health Effects Of BPA
Even exposure to trace amounts of BPA has deleterious effects on health, new research shows, according to Environmental Working Group. BPA disrupts the endocrine system and contributes to developmental abnormalities in chromosomes and the reproductive system, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity and resistance to chemotherapy, and impairs neurological function, EWG says.
A potentially more hazardous source is canned drinks, food and soup, which are lined with BPA-containing plastic, says EWG. BPA leaches from these cans, according to both EWG and FDA.
