BPA stands for Bisphenol A, It is used in plastic products such as water bottles, sippers, cups and the coatings of some food cans. It is also used in goods such as compact discs and thermal cash register tapes. BPA is currently at the center of a large controversy regarding its effect on human health and development.
The common plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA), mimics the hormone estrogen and has been linked to a long list of serious health problems. Scientists have tied BPA to ailments including asthma, cancer, infertility, low sperm count, genital deformity, heart disease, liver problems, and ADHD.
US FDA as well as the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) like Public Health Authorities have published reports after extensive testing that the amount of BPA that enters the human body is much lower than earlier believed. According to them, in infants too, the dose of BPA that enters the body is safe and is metabolized instantly.
But, the controvery continues, since many natural health advocacy groups have doubted these tests and have claimed that the tests were not conducted in controlled environments and the laboratory animals used to test were already contaminated with BPA, and hence the results are grossly inaccurate.
Independent tests conducted on BPA free plastics too have reportedly found active estrogenic activity in them, thus putting plastic containers in serious doubt. The problem as seen is magnified when using in conjunction with the presence of direct or indirect heat.
To limit BPA exposure either use paper cups for your daily dose of hot drinks or keep your eyes open for the following.
- Some plastic cups and containers that are marked with recycle codes 3 or 7 may be made with BPA.
- Do not pour very hot liquid in plastic cups that you doubt to contain BPA. BPA levels rise in food when containers having BPA in it, are heated and come in contact with the food.
- Discard all bottles with scratches, as these may harbor bacteria and, if BPA-containing, lead to greater release of BPA.
Paper Cups too have been found to contain trace levels of BPA, but are not reported to be unsafe, and this BPA enters the cup from the plastic sleeves holding them in the racks of your favorite stores. But most paper cups you use are from coffee shops and vendors who do get their paper cups directly from manufacturers like us, and to produce safe cups, we use a mix of virgin and recycled paper pulps to reduce chances of contamination. Starbucks to have been using a similar approach with recycled paper making up less than 10% of the cup material.
So, to put it together, we manufacture our paper cups with paper sourced only from mills accredited either by FSC or PEFC, to ensure that we do not contribute to the increasing carbon footprint and thus, our paper cups are more recycle and environment friendly than plastic or foam cups. Secondly, using more virgin paper means reduction in any residual trace of BPA in our products, thus our paper cups safer for your health too.
So next time you are out enjoying a cuppa, look out for high quality paper cups like ours, or if you are the coffee shop or ice cream vendor, get in touch with us to ensure that you provide your customers with the safest and healthiest paper cups possible.
