CDC News- CDC's New Jersey branch has moved to a larger 15,000 sq ft. building in Union New Jersey. The new facility will enable CDC to have all NJ deliveries originate locally. In addition, the expanded equipment service department will be able to handle virtually all equipment refurbishing. So far CDC has added 30 additional employees to its NJ division in the past year.

Sustainability- CDC has added a whole line of ecologically "friendly" disposable products. This is a dynamic area with new products coming to market all the time, watch here for the latest news.

Coffee: Our new Estate Select El Salvador coffee is a sweet tasting Rain Forest Alliance™ bean sourced from the las Zerro Ranas plantation. We developed this brew at the request of a leading investment bank that was looking for the ultimate coffee, where it won out in blind taste test over the "big name" coffees. This may be our best coffee yet!

Fuel Surcharge

As fuel costs continue to set new record highs in 2008, we at CDC are proud to be able to keep our fuel surcharge to the lowest levels in the industry. The charge is calculated on the weighted average cost of fuel for our fleet (regular gas and diesel) as indicated in the chart below.

Are 5 gallon plastic water bottles safe to use?

Separating Myth from Reality

Recently there have been media stories raising questions about the safety of polycarbonate plastic bottles due to a key component of the plastic: bisphenol-A (BPA). Containers using this plastic are identified by the number 7 for recycling purposes.

The facts are:

• Virtually all re-usable 5 gallon water bottles worldwide are made with polycarbonate plastics and have been for over 40 years.

• This plastic has been approved for use in water bottles by every regulatory authority, worldwide, that has considered the issue including:

  • The US FDA

  • European Food Safety Authority

  • Norwegian Food Safety Authority

  • Offical Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland

  • NSF International

  • Japanese Ministry for Health, Labor and Welfare

  • United Kingdom Food Standards Agency

• Those raising issues with the use of polycarbonate beverage containers principally raise questions about the migration of BPA when hot liquids are introduced into the container. This is not an issue with bottled water since the water is cold when it is bottled and is only heated after it leaves the bottle on the water dispenser.

Note: Most research indicates migration is not an issue providing the container is washed at least once with hot water.

For more detailed information regarding the safety of polycarbonate water bottles please read the following articles. We also recommend visiting http://www.bisphenol-a.org/ where you will find a wealth of information including references to scholarly research on the subject of bisphenol A.

New Data from CDC Confirms Human Exposure to Bisphenol A in the United States is Far Below Safe Limits

November 1, 2007

Summary

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently published biomonitoring data on bisphenol A from a large-scale study that is representative of the US population.  That data indicates that typical human daily intake of bisphenol A is approximately 50 nanograms/kg bodyweight/day.  These levels are about 1 million times below the levels where no adverse effects on reproduction and development were observed in comprehensive multi-generation animal studies.  Likewise, these levels are about 1 thousand times below lifetime daily intake levels conservatively set by government bodies in the US and Europe.  Exposures below the lifetime daily intake levels are expected to have no adverse effect on health. 

Overall, the CDC data indicates that human exposure to bisphenol A is very low and strongly supports the conclusion that exposure to bisphenol A poses no known risk to human health.

What Did CDC Report?

Since 1999, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conducted the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States.  The survey, which currently examines about 5,000 people each year, includes a detailed interview and a range of physical examinations.  The survey is designed to produce information that is representative of the US population aged 2 months and older.(1)

Urine and blood samples are collected for clinical chemistry testing and a subset of these samples are also analyzed for the presence of various natural or synthetic substances, a technique known as biomonitoring.(2)  For the first time, CDC has analyzed urine samples from a nationally representative group of people for the presence of bisphenol A in the NHANES 2003-2004 survey.  Their evaluation of this data has recently been published in a scientific journal.(3)

A total of 2,517 urine samples from people of 6-85 years of age were analyzed for bisphenol A.  Since the NHANES survey also collects demographic information, CDC’s report includes statistical analyses for the entire study population as a whole, as well as analyses for several subgroups defined by gender, age and other demographic parameters.

What Does the Data Say About Human Exposure to Bisphenol A?

Bisphenol A was detected in 92.6% of the urine samples, which is representative of the US population.  For the whole population, the median concentration of bisphenol A in urine was 2.7 nanograms/milliliter (parts per billion).  There were only slight differences found between the demographic subgroups that were separately analyzed, with all median values in the range of 1.9 to 4.2 nanograms/milliliter.  This indicates that no subgroup is exposed to bisphenol A at substantially higher or lower levels versus the population as a whole.

In the human body, bisphenol A is efficiently converted to a metabolite known as a glucuronide,(2)  which has no known biological activity and is rapidly and entirely excreted into urine.  Before analysis, human urine samples are first treated with an enzyme that hydrolyzes the glucuronide back to bisphenol A, which is easier to measure.  Although bisphenol A is measured and reported by CDC, this does not mean that bisphenol A itself is present in the body or in urine.

Because bisphenol A is so rapidly excreted from the body into urine, it is possible to estimate daily intake of bisphenol A from the concentrations measured in urine.(4)  For the population as a whole, the median daily intake of bisphenol A is estimated to be approximately 50 nanograms/kg bodyweight/day.  Consistent with the concentration values, daily intakes do not vary substantially among the different demographic subgroups with median values ranging from approximately 33 to 80 nanograms/kg bodyweight/day. 

What Does the Data Tell Us About the Safety of Bisphenol A?

To put the biomonitoring data into perspective, it is helpful to compare typical daily intakes to acceptable daily intakes set by government bodies.  The acceptable daily intakes are derived from toxicity studies to which conservative safety factors are applied to estimate lifetime exposure levels that are expected to be without adverse effects.  Typical daily intake values can also be compared directly to doses shown to cause no adverse effects in toxicity studies.

A typical daily intake of 50 nanograms/kg bodyweight/day is about 1 million times lower than levels where no adverse effects on reproduction or development were observed in multi-generation animal studies, (5) which indicates a very large margin of safety.

By application of safety factors, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recently set a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of 50 micrograms/kg bodyweight/day.(6)  This value is identical to the Reference Dose established by the US Environmental Protection Agency.(7)  In comparison, a typical daily bisphenol A intake of 50 nanograms/kg bodyweight/day is 1 thousand times lower; this indicates that there is a substantial margin of safety between actual levels to which the US population is exposed and safe exposure levels.

Overall, the new CDC biomonitoring data on bisphenol A indicates that actual human exposure to bisphenol A is far below levels that could cause adverse health effects and strongly supports the conclusion that exposure to bisphenol A poses no known risk to human health.

(1) Information on the NHANES program is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/intro_mec.htm.

(2) For more information on biomonitoring and bisphenol A, see http://www.bisphenol-a.org/whatsNew/20050504.html and http://www.bisphenol-a.org/whatsNew/20050926.html. 

(3) “Exposure of the U.S. population to bisphenol A and 4-tertiary-octylphenol: 2003-2004,” A. M. Calafat, X. Ye, L.-Y. Wong, J. A. Reidy, and L. L. Needham, Environmental Health Perspectives.  Available on-line on October 24, 2007 at http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.10753.

(4) Daily intakes are estimated by multiplying the measured concentrations of bisphenol A with a typical urine output per day, and dividing by the measured bodyweights of the study participants.  This results in daily intakes expressed in the commonly used metric of nanograms/kg bodyweight/day.

(5) “Three-generation reproductive toxicity study of dietary bisphenol A in CD Sprague-Dawley rats”, R. W. Tyl, C. B. Myers, M. C. Marr, et al., Toxicological Sciences (2002), 68:121-146.

(6) For a discussion of the EFSA TDI, see http://www.bisphenol-a.org/whatsNew/20070201EFSA.html.

(7) See http://www.epa.gov/iris.

Are the Myths About Polycarbonate Bottles True?
New Information Supports the Safe Use of Polycarbonate Bottles

February 5, 2008

Summary

For decades, polycarbonate plastic has been safely used to make baby bottles and reusable water bottles.  The safety of these products has been supported by numerous science-based safety evaluations of bisphenol A that have been conducted by independent government and scientific bodies worldwide.  For example, recent evaluations by the European Food Safety Authority and NSF International both provide strong support for the safety of polycarbonate bottles.  In spite of this strong scientific support, numerous myths, misinformation and scare stories about polycarbonate bottles continue to circulate.  Several new studies have carefully examined these myths and provide additional strong support for the safe use of polycarbonate bottles.

What Do We Know About the Safety of Polycarbonate Bottles?

Polycarbonate plastic has been the material of choice for baby bottles and reusable water bottles for decades because it is lightweight, highly shatter-resistant, and transparent.  During that time, many studies have been conducted to assess the potential for trace levels of bisphenol A to migrate from polycarbonate bottles into foods or beverages.   The conclusions from those studies and comprehensive safety evaluations by government bodies worldwide are that polycarbonate bottles are safe for use.

Nevertheless, myths, misinformation and scare stories about polycarbonate bottles continue to circulate, in particular regarding real-life conditions of use that are claimed to result in the release of harmful levels of bisphenol A.  Several new studies from respected scientists and organizations are now available to clarify whether any of the myths are true and whether the scare stories have merit.

What Are the Myths and What New Information is Available?

Myth #1:  Migration Increases to Unsafe Levels at High Temperatures

A recent scare story,(1) based on a small-scale study from the University of Cincinnati, claimed that the level of bisphenol A released from polycarbonate plastic bottles increased when the bottles were filled with boiling water, and remained elevated when the bottles were subsequently filled with water at room temperature.

Increased migration into boiling water is not news at all since it is well known as a general phenomenon that migration levels increase with increasing temperature.

The claim that bisphenol A migration levels remain elevated after a single treatment with boiling water was not confirmed in a far more comprehensive study(2) from researchers at the University of Athens who examined migration over repeated cycles to determine what happens under real-life repetitive use of polycarbonate bottles.  These researchers found that elevated migration levels are a transient effect that quickly recedes to a baseline level with continued use, even when boiling water was used in each subsequent cycle. 

Even the highest levels of bisphenol A observed in these new studies are well below science-based safety standards set by government bodies.

Myth #2:  Microwave Heating Leads to Elevated Migration Levels

The myth that heating baby bottles in a microwave oven increases migration of bisphenol A to unsafe levels was tested in a study published in 2008 by TNO, a prominent Dutch research organization.(3) 

In TNO’s study, polycarbonate baby bottles from eighteen different brands sold in Europe were subjected to a series of tests to determine the level of bisphenol A that migrates under real-life microwave heating or sterilizing conditions.  Bottles were filled with water, heated to boiling with microwave heating, boiled for one minute, and cooled.  The procedure was then repeated two more times for each bottle after rinsing, and bisphenol A was measured in the water from each cycle.

As expected, the study demonstrates that microwave heating has no effect on migration of bisphenol A from polycarbonate bottles.  This study indicates that microwave heating can be safely used to either warm the contents of a polycarbonate bottle(4) or to sterilize the bottles.  Migration levels measured in this and earlier studies using other modes of heating are all well below science-based safety standards set by government agencies.

Myth #3:  Cleaning Polycarbonate Bottles in a Dishwasher is Unsafe

This myth suggests that polycarbonate bottles will degrade if cleaned in a dishwasher, leading to the release of unsafe levels of bisphenol A in subsequent uses of the bottle.  The myth originated in a study from 2003 in which laboratory animal cages and water bottles were inadvertently washed at high temperature with a highly caustic floor cleaning detergent and then autoclaved,(5) conditions that are of little relevance to actual use of polycarbonate bottles in the home.

Researchers from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland recently conducted a very comprehensive set of experiments designed to assess whether any real-life dishwashing condition, “even rather improbable conditions and scenarios,” could lead to bisphenol A levels above safety standards.(6)  Based on the data, they concluded “that even under extreme conditions and scenarios the amount of BPA released from polycarbonate baby bottles is clearly below the TDI [Tolerable Daily Intake; a European science-based safety standard] for babies.” 

Under normal dishwashing conditions, which includes effective rinsing to remove detergent, the migration levels noted in this study are typical of what has been observed in many earlier studies and are far below science-based safety standards.  This study, as well as a number of others, confirms that polycarbonate baby bottles can be safely cleaned in a dishwasher.

Myth #4:  Old or Scratched Bottles May Release Unsafe Levels of Bisphenol A

A corollary to this myth, which asserts that old bottles have degraded and will release unsafe levels of bisphenol A, is that polycarbonate bottles should not be cleaned with a brush.  However, recent studies have provided no support for this myth.

The University of Athens study noted above (2) examined the effect of dishwashing, brushing with a detergent, sterilizing with boiling water and temperature on migration of bisphenol A from polycarbonate baby bottles.  With the well-known exception of temperature, these experiments found no effect from any of the other parameters on release of bisphenol A.  Migration levels in heated baby bottles were well below science-based safety standards and, accordingly, the authors concluded “Our results suggest that BPA migration from polycarbonate baby bottles is unlikely to be of concern.”

Although small in scale, the University of Cincinnati study noted above (1) found no difference between old and new polycarbonate water bottles.  Migration of bisphenol A from old bottles, up to nine years old, was not different than levels measured from new bottles.

What Does the New Information Tell Us About Polycarbonate Bottle Safety?

The conclusions of comprehensive evaluations of the safety of bisphenol A conducted by independent government and scientific bodies worldwide have, in every case, supported the safe use of polycarbonate baby bottles and water bottles.  Contrary to the myths, misinformation and scare stories about the safety of polycarbonate baby bottles and water bottles, the new studies described above provide additional strong support for these conclusions.

For example, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently established a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for bisphenol A of 50 micrograms/kilogram bodyweight/day, which represents a safe level for daily exposure over a lifetime.(7)  Even the highest transient level of bisphenol A measured in the University of Athens and University of Cincinnati studies, which would not occur daily over a lifetime, would only result in bisphenol A exposure that is less than 1% of the TDI.

More recently, NSF International, a not-for-profit public health organization, published their comprehensive evaluation of the safety of bisphenol A, which concluded with the calculation of a Reference Dose (i.e., safe exposure level) and a Total Allowable Concentration (i.e., safe concentration)(8) for drinking water.  Both of these values are applicable to daily exposure over the course of a lifetime.  Very similar to the EFSA evaluation, even if the highest transient level of bisphenol A measured in the recent migration studies was experienced every day, exposure to bisphenol A would still be far below the Reference Dose and Total Allowable Concentration.

A complete review of the scientific data, as has been conducted by government and scientific bodies worldwide, reveals that polycarbonate bottles are safe for use and that migration levels of bisphenol A from polycarbonate plastic under real-life conditions are well within science-based safety limits.

(1) See http://www.bisphenol-a.org/whatsNew/20080131.html for a full summary and discussion of the new study and scare story.

(2) Maragou, N. C., Makri, A, Lampi, E. N., Thomaidis, N. S., and Koupparis, M. A. 2008. Migration of bisphenol A from polycarbonate baby bottles under real use conditions. Food Additives and Contaminants. 25(3):373-383. Available on-line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02652030701509998

(3) Ehlert, K. A., Beumer, C. W. E., and Groot, M. C. E. 2008. Migration study of bisphenol A into water from polycarbonate baby bottles during microwave heating. Food Additives and Contaminants. In press.

(4) Because of uneven heating and the formation of hot spots, experts do not recommend heating in the bottle to warm infant formula or milk.

(5) Koehler, K. E., Voigt, R. C., Thomas, S., Lamb, B., Urban, C., Hassold, T., and Hunt, P. A. 2003. When disaster strikes: rethinking caging materials. Lab Animal. 32(4):24-27.

(6) Biedermann-Brem, S., Grob, K., and Fjeldal, P. 2007. Available from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority website at http://matportalen.no/artikler/2007/11/
taateflasker_av_polykarbonat_er_trygge_i_bruk.

(7) A summary report and full report are available on the EFSA website at   http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/science/afc/afc_opinions/bisphenol_a.html.  A discussion of the EFSA report and other recent evaluations of bisphenol A is also available at http://www.bisphenol-a.org/whatsNew/20070201EFSA.html.

(8) Willhite, C. C., Ball, G. L., and McLellan, C. J. 2008. Derivation of a bisphenol A oral reference dose (RfD) and drinking-water equivalent concentration. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B. 11(2):69-146. Available on-line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10937400701724303