After revealing last month that the Swiss water bottle manufacturing company Sigg had traces of bisphenol A (BPA) in the liners of their aluminum water bottles sold before August 2008, the company has issued a public apology.

The trendy, colourful metal water bottles that became popular after the BPA scare with Nalgene water bottles were marketed as BPA-free, but the recent admission about the lining of the Sigg bottles has raised questions around the health risks of using the company’s bottles.

Sigg’s website currently has a letter to Sigg consumers, stating that all Sigg bottles manufactured after August 2008 were made with their new lining that is 100 per cent BPA free, however bottles manufactured prior to August 2008 have the former water-based epoxy liner which contains trace amounts of BPA. The letter goes on to say that those bottles have been thoroughly tested and showed zero per cent leaching of BPA.

To help consumers confirm if their bottle was manufactured before or after August 2008, the site has a photo of the new and old lining to compare.

According to a marketing monitoring company, Sigg water bottle sales rose 250 per cent between 2006 and 2007, when the BPA scare was a concern.

Jasper Wild Mountain store owner Dave MacDowell can testify to that. He says around the time that the BPA scare was going on, his display of Sigg bottles was about a quarter of the size it is now, as people stopped using the Nalgene bottles that at the time had traces of BPA. Sigg bottles, which were advertised as BPA-free, became very popular.

MacDowell says he hasn’t had any customers bring up the subject, and doesn’t plan to take them off the shelves, as all the bottles on his shelf are new and now BPA-free anyway.

Many other outdoor adventure sports stores in Jasper carry metal water bottles made by the manufacturer Laken that make a virtually similar BPA-free bottle.

According to reports from the CBC, Sigg knew their older bottles contained traces of BPA, but due to a confidentiality agreement with what was then their only supplier, they thought they could avoid revealing the information.

Sigg has also offered a voluntary exchange program for customers who have the older bottles with BPA liners to exchange them for a new, BPA-free bottle.

The manufacturer’s website also states that the FDA has deemed that the scientific result they have found ‘does not justify recommending that anyone discontinue using products containing BPA.’