Seeing Red a Good Thing: BPA-free Receipts

You’ll soon have some assurance that the receipt you’re handing is free of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA).

Back in July, I told you about how BPA has been found in nearly 40 percent of cash register receipts from major US businesses like Walmart and even Whole Foods.

Appleton, the only producer of BPA-free thermal receipt paper in the U.S., is adding red fibers to their register receipts. Appleton stopped using BPA in 2006, and now they’re helping you to know if you’ve gotten your hands on one of their receipts.

By the end of November, 75 percent of the Appleton thermal receipt paper shipped out will have the red fibers. And Appleton expects that all of their thermal receipt paper will have the red fibers in 2011.

In addition to being more healthy, the BPA-free receipt paper is also recyclable. The embedded red fibers are made of rayon, a fiber that is even more biodegradable than cotton.

If you spot red on your receipt, please check back to let us know where you found it.

(image via sxc)

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BPA on Receipts, Even Whole Foods is Guilty

The endocrine disruptor that everyone wants to avoid these days seems more and more unavoidable.

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been discovered through lab tests to be lurking inside 40 percent of receipts from major US businesses like Walmart, CVS, McDonald’s, Safeway, KFC, the US Postal Service and even Whole Foods.

The levels of BPA found were 250 to 1,000 times higher than what’s  inside canned foods and baby bottles.

The culprit is thermal paper used for receipts. And the Environmental Working Group (EWG) warns that this paper shouldn’t be recycled as it could corrupt recycled paper with BPA.

All’s not bad news though. Some companies had receipts that were either free of BPA or contained only trace amounts. So, cheers to these companies: Starbucks, Target and Bank of America ATMs.

I guess I’m still naive when it comes to BPA, but thanks to the lab study commissioned by the EWG, receipt BPA is now on my mind. Awareness is a good thing though. I tend to keep up with my receipts as I need them for checking all the charges against my debit card. Now I’ll take care to wash my hands! (Read more at EWG)

How worried should you be over BPA on receipts?

If you work as a cashier, you should probably be concerned. A recent Swiss study showed that BPA absorbs easily into the skin at a depth that’s difficult to wash away. (Read more at CNN)

Are you surprised about BPA on receipts?

(image via flickr/rudolf_schuba)

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Z Recommends Talks to SIGG

I’m a bit late getting this up, but I wanted to let you know that Z Recommends interviewed SIGG President Steve Wasik. Then, they interviewed him again.

They asked Wasik about the email response I received from SIGG when I asked for a refund on my older SIGG bottles containing BPA in the lining. Read what he said at Notes from SIGG’s Age of Innuendo.

I enjoy the in-depth and careful reporting at Z Recommends and was honored to be quoted over there! I know you SIGG-curious readers will enjoy it too. The article also contains other consumer responses.

Coming up soon, a review on my new water bottle.

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