BPA Bottle Phase Out
Baby and Water Bottles with BPA Voluntarily Removed from Shelves
Soon after US and Canadian governments released current research about potential dangers from BPA bottle manufacturers and retailers begin changing or removing products.
Controversy continues as to whether the levels of bisphenol A (BPA) found in recent research studies are harmful to humans. While governments and concerned citizens debate the level of dangers, companies that produce the bottles and retailers who sell them are acting. In the past week several companies have announced voluntary action plans.
Recalls
As of April 23, 2008 no company has publicly announced a recall of bottles. Many, however, are responding to public outcry and consumer demands for BPA-free alternatives. Some baby bottle manufacturers produce glass bottles, and a few already have BPA-free alternatives to both bottles and sippy cups. Sports bottles can be found in metal, but most plastic versions are still produced with BPA.
Action Plans
Though this is not an exhaustive list, the following companies have publicly released their intentions to meet consumer demands for BPA free products.
Nalgene announced on April 18, 2008 that it will be phasing out its product lines that contain BPA over the next few months. Several of its products are already produced without the use of BPA, including the newly released Everyday line which includes different styles of water bottles.
Playtex also announced its intentions on April 18. Playtex already has a line of BPA-free infant products, and will change the rest of their products to BPA-free by the end of this year. To reinforce their intentions, Playtex is also distributing one million free samples of Playtex® Drop-Ins® Original Nurser Systems.
Wal-Mart announced its plans shortly after Canada announced its upcoming ban on BPA products. It immediately stopped stocking baby bottles, sippy cups, water bottles and other containers known to contain BPA in its Canadian and US stores. The company also stated it will phase out all products containing BPA by early 2009.
Toys ‘R’ Us, including its Babies ‘R’ Us chains, also announced its plans earlier this week. In light of growing consumer concerns they are phasing out all baby bottles and other feeding supplies that contain BPA by the end of 2008.
Government Response
In Canada all retailers are responding to a government ban on all BPA products that was announced on April 18. Though some companies, such as the Forzani Group, Hudson’s Bay and Canadian Tire Corp. anticipated the government ban and began removing BPA plastics earlier, all retailers in Canada are now expected to remove baby bottles and water bottles known to be produced with BPA.
The US government stands behind the statements by the American Chemistry Council. They acknowledge that there is a negligible risk, but that risk is too small to initiate a ban or recall of products. However, they have also called for further scientific research.
