Bisphenol A (BPA) in Packaging

Last Week, I was watched a repeat of the US Senate Committee's hearing on Plastic Additives in Consumer Products (see previous link for video) My gut reaction from having worked in the beverage industry is that plastic packaging is GRAS. I am putting this post together to provide some quick links to get you up to speed if you don't have the time to google all this. 

1. Wikipedia

2. USA Today

3. DRAFT National Toxicology Program BPA Brief

4. American Chemistry Council

5. National Geographic "Green Guide"

6. medicinenet.com

The containers in question are made of polycarbonate which are food containers, tableware, clear water bottles and baby bottles. PET is the plastic If you want to avoid this kind of packaging look for "7" or PC. There are also polymer liner coatings used in food cans. PET bottles used for beverages do not contain BPA and are considered safe although the plastic has been known to leech very small amounts of acetaldehyde (ethanol).

According to the research so far, (and the jury is still out) studies have shown some concerning fetal and infant brain development and affects to the male prostate gland as well as, mammary gland, earlier age for puberty in females. The problem is compounded when hot liquids are heated or placed in these containers. Exactly what you do to infants formulas or when sterilizing these bottles for use. Scary stuff indeed. Not only that, but the manufacturers are removing these bottles from the shelves on their own. 

If you really watch the two hour Senate video, you will Senator Charles E. Schumer talk about the bill that he is sponsoring; The "BPA Free Kids Act of 2008" (S 2928)  banning detectable amounts of  BPA in Childrens products.

Dr. Norris Alderson, Associate Commissioner for Science, FDA and Dr. Marylin Wind, Deputy Associate Executive Director for Health Sciences, Consumer Product Safety commission came under heavy scrutiny from the Senate committee. 

Dr. Alderson who also Chairs the BPA task force said that BPA used in food contact substances is regulated under FDA title 21 but is in "very low" parts per billion range. By the way a part per billion is one part per 1,000,000,000 parts. He did go on to say that a large body of evidence currently available shows that these products are safe. (27:00) He stated his case and seemed a little defensive while he fielded questions from Senator Nelson and Kerry. In my opinion, he did not stand up to the Senators' questioning very well.

One high part for me was when Senator Nelson held up a sports bottle that you would find in any sporting goods store and demanded that Dr Alderson tell him if the bottle as safe to drink from. (1:02:20)

Later, Senator Kerry began to tongue lash both Doctors starting around 1:20 directly comparing this chemical to flame retardant children's pajamas, cribs that kill and the Chevy Corvair. Then the Senator went off on a tangent asking about hair care products that contain estrogen.  Senator Kerry went so far as to quote his book around 1:25:50. 

The frenzy over this issue reminds me of the Saccharin ban. Saccharin as you may remember, was to be banned in 1977 also based on a Canadian study, however under public pressure, Congress delayed the ban by requiring anything with this ingredient carry a warning label. This ban was lifted in 2001 by the Clinton Administration and is no longer considered a threat. . . although there are experts who still advise to avoid this chemical.

My thoughts are that this is about risk: There are risks every day when you walk out the door. What is the risk to drinking from a bottle that contains BPA. Very-very low if any. If you are a manufacturer of glass containers thinking that this will be good for your industry, there are risks to drinking and feeding your children from glass too with regards to glass fragments in the product.

Now with the readily available internet, you can find risk to nearly every single packaging component, chemical, food or food additive,  sugar, even  water. If you want to play along, enter your item and then the word "risk" after it in a google search.

Don't think that today's focus on BPA won't be tomorrows Senate hearing on a chemical found in your container or product. There is no industry that can stand up to this kind of scrutiny. Be ready in advance with the studies that prove your case. Please feel free to give me your comments on this issue.

I was at the Packaging Summit in Chicago last week . .

and here are a few highlights from the show which is presented by the IOPP. If you have never attended the Packaging Summit, this is their fourth year. I would have to say that the show is well attended by a nice cross section of contract packagers, label and container companies, plastic molders and design firms. While not a big show, it's worth attending and there are conferences too; enough to keep you busy for a day or two. Here are some companies that I thought stood out at the show for whatever reason.

Unless you have been living under a rock, the magic word in packaging is Sustainability and I learned that this word has different meanings to different people. If you are into plastic molding, I guess that molding components in a plastic that degrades faster in a landfill is somehow better than regular plastic that degrades slower. Degrading into what? The bottom line is that I saw the "S" word in nearly each and every booth.

An honorable mention goes to The Drake Company who developed a way to reduce the amount of plastic is in packaging in their new Lite-Pak. I would have liked to have seen a smaller footprint on the actual pack and there have been environmental disposal issues with the compact fluorescent light bulbs they were using as a packaging example.  

MeadWestVaco was there displaying a similar product called "Natralock", but with a goldfish instead of the light bulb in the package. Their literature is full of the new math that will get you props at Wal-Mart. (See my blog from April 10)

By far the coolest thing that I saw at the show was a device (actually pictures of the device) made by Recycletech that grinds up and melts down styrofoam waste 90:1. Here is a video of it in action. I know that styrofoam is a huge problem in landfills and I took the brochure to my local recycling center for consideration. 

Another company that had a neat product was KW Plastics that makes paint containers directly from recycled plastic drinking containers. 

MonoSol makes hot and cold water soluable bags that are edible. (Or may be edible in the near future, I didn't get a clear answer). This is a really a cool innovation. Imagine dropping a sealed teabag into hot water or some kind of iced tea mix directly into your beverage. then you drink it all. If I see this in the market in three years, I want 5%! Even the non edible bags are being used right now for dishwashing soap. The best packaging is packaging you don't throw away, no?

Something that I really never considered was having a company build a leased packaging plant right next door to your factory. What's sustainable about that? Well, zero trucking for one and less factory waste. Also, you could design this new factory to be energy efficient from the beginning and help the local economy to boot. Aldelano Packaging Corporation Can do just that. 

Mold-Rite plastics makes a really clever (and patented) medicine bottle cap that has a pointer on top that advances every time you open the bottle called the Dial Vial. While this isn't actually sustainable, It might help you sustain yourself if you forgot whether you took your heart medication today.

The Outlook Group (a label printer) was showing pressure sensitive labels that are supplied on a ultra thin "microliner" This liner is claimed to be 100% recyclable and allows the label roll to hold up to 30% more labels. Since the label liner is wasted 100% after application, this is a good way to minimize this waste stream. 

SunChemical was also at the show showing some James Bond style printed security products that glow or change color depending on if you rub them or expose them to certain kinds of light. Since counterfeiting is such a big trend nowadays, they can help you with a conventionally printed solution. 

Note that these observations are my own and I have no stake in any of the companies above nor can I prove that the claims they make are true. For some reason, typing this makes me feel better.

One last thing: Pushing the envelope; the Coollid company was there offering a patented "Revolution in Coffee lids." that has a temperature reducing chamber in the lid which I thought was clever, but seemed to me overly complex and used at least twice the plastic as compared to a standard coffee lid. 

Unfortunately, the booth was unmanned when I walked by, so I was not able to try their product. If you want a chuckle, their home page has an infomercial-like movie on it complete with people burning themselves and dumping coffee on their laptops. 

And the future of packaging is...Drum Roll Please!

A friend of mine who works at Kimberly Clark sent me this link to make my own tissue box. Not that I always wanted a custom tissue box or even thought for one minute about designing my own tissue box, but this might be the future of packaging or at least be a cool way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Jones Soda has been doing the same thing for years, but at $29.99 plus S&H for a twelve pack, that would put me over $100 for both parents and my wife. Call me cheap!

Several years ago I had the opportunity to see an Indigo printer (now HP) at a trade show print custom potato chip bags with attendee pictures as part of the graphic. My thoughts at the time were "cool, but how would that work in the real world?" Well, clearly the answer is to offer it up at a premium via the web the way these two above consumer companies are. There are now even entire printing companies based on the digital model who have invested in this kind of printing: Lightning Label in Denver is one of them and the first "All-Digital" printing company. 

Well, getting back to my boxes, Kimberly Clark has obviously put some time into the interface because it seems pretty idiot proof. You get twenty or so background colors, the ability to add as many photos as you like and frame images as well as a message. My first thoughts were to put an influenza image on the box, but no, I ended up putting up a couple of photos of my kids instead. The cost is $4.99 each which is little more than a standard box of tissues costs. Hopefully will be sent in time for Mothers day. 

Can you think of a way to make your product that custom?