Your Metal Drinking Bottle Is Probably A Toxic Plastic Bottle In Disguise

Written by Sarah Cain Friday, 15 January 2010 13:03

	This "safe" Sigg brand drinking bottle (sold at Whole Food's Market) is not as safe as we were led to believe.

In a small victory for consumers, B.P.A.-free water bottles have found their way into regular grocery stores.  Scientists, researchers, and the public know the dangers of B.P.A., despite the refusal of the F.D.A. to acknowledge them.  However, the new water bottles may not be as safe as people assume.  While they may not leach the hormone destroying Bisphenol A (B.P.A.), a strong plastic taste can still sometimes be noticed in water stored in the new generation of bottles.  We wondered about this, and once again; our research confirmed our fears.

The chemicals that leach out of plastics are always harmful to health, but these chemicals often go unnoticed when people drink flavored drinks, which masks the taste of them.  As a rule of thumb, plastics should be categorically avoided for food and beverage containers.  All plastics leach, but they leach different chemicals at varying levels.  Therefore, while some plastics may be more dangerous than others, none are completely safe.  The differences between plastics, and the chemicals that they leach can be found in the article, Poisonous Plastic Containers. Remarkably, the plastics used to make milk jugs are actually fairly safe, along with water stored in milk jug type containers.  The clear plastics, like those used for soft drinks, tend to be the worst; but again, reference the article cited above for the full technical details.

Those who realize the dangers of plastic bottles will usually jump to metal containers, which are found nearby in grocery stores.  Unfortunately, for most of these people, manufacturers are using extremely dirty marketing tactics to continue poisoning us through deception regarding these containers.  A major problem was found with these cheap aluminum containers, which are most commonly used, and an even more insidious solution to the problem was employed.  The problem was that common aluminum drinking bottles normally react with acidic drinks, like all popular soft drinks, to cause the drinks to become toxic with heavy metal compounds, and the containers themselves decay from the acids.  Instead of switching to a non-toxic, more resilient metal, like stainless steel; manufacturers secretly started lining these aluminum cans with thin plastic clear coats, like those used on automobiles.

That's right, your safe "metal" water bottle may actually be a plastic bottle in disguise.  While no mention of this will be found on the labels, manufacturers have an incredible tendency to boast about the plastic linings on their websites, in careful marketing lingo:

"A baked on inner-lining which meets F.D.A. requirements, doesn't impart odors or tastes."

"Contains a strong, taste-neutral bpa-free plastic lining."

"This eco-friendly bottle has a special leach-proof lining."

They completely disregard that the primary reason for the purchase of metal bottles is because people don't want plastic.  With this method, manufacturers can charge consumers 4x the amount that they would for a plastic bottle of the same size, simply by adding a thin aluminum outer layer, which exists for marketing purposes only.

Whole Food's Market Nailed Again

Sigg, a brand which is proudly made in Switzerland, is one of the companies that tricks consumers with this method.  In fact, Sigg boasts that they use a special "proprietary" lining, which means that they go to special efforts to hide what plastics they use, and we have to wonder why.  We paid special attention to this company, because it is the brand sold in Whole Food's Market.  Whole Foods is normally a store that most people feel is safe for finding non-toxic merchandise, but unfortunately, this seems to be gradually changing.  Whole Food's once again put "eco-friendly" before the welfare of its own customers in choosing the Sigg brand.  Sigg is saving the planet from us, and that whole truth thing, after all.  See our Forsaking America For "Mother Earth" article for more information about those infesting alternative medicine, who would sacrifice us on the pagan alter of "the environment".

For those who are searching for a truly non-toxic water bottle, we personally recommend, and will be using Klean Kanteen.  We were not paid to endorse them, but we do support them for doing the right thing.  When shopping for a safe drinking bottle, be sure to choose a stainless steel lid interior to completely eliminate all contact with plastics.

A Sad Admission From Us

We found that one of our advertisers was employing these same dirty tricks with their own brand of drinking bottles, so they will never be mentioned again here, unless it is to editorialize their unethical business practices.  If you purchased a drinking bottle from them, then we offer you a sincere apology.  Sometimes the sneaky bastards are even able to fly under our radar.  Just remember, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

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