Welcome to NALGENE Outdoor!

As our peers in the industry have done we would also like to clarify some of the confusion around metal bottles as a result of recent news reports revealing that aluminum bottles contain or have contained BPA.

The definitive difference between aluminum and stainless steel is the presence of a liner, an epoxy-based liner to be exact. Aluminum bottles require liners because they are susceptible to corrosion, leading to contamination of the beverages within the bottle. Our stainless steel bottles are manufactured with 18/10 surgical grade stainless steel that is BPA-free and contains no linings of any type.

Nalgene's stainless steel bottles are manufactured in China at an ISO 9001:2000 certified factory and are compliant through testing conducted at SGS, a world wide testing company, http://www.us.sgs.com/ and at UKAS, a testing company located in UK http://www.ukas.org/testing/aboutus.asp

Aside from our stainless steel bottles, most of our products are made in the USA, and we offer more than five different types of BPA-free materials. A significant differentiator for Nalgene® products is that all Nalgene plastic bottles are molded from 100-percent virgin resin with nothing but FDA compliant colors added. The finished products meet FDA requirements for food and beverage contact as published in chapter 21 of the Code of the Federal Register section 1580. Nalgene is an ISO 13485 compliant facility and is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facility.

Since April 2008, we have manufactured 100-percent BPA-free products including all vessels, lids and mouthpieces. To help consumers choose which bottle is best for their needs and find information about different types of plastics and metals, we created www.NalgeneChoice.com, a product information resource for consumers.

As always, we thank you, our customers, for your ongoing support and loyalty. We strive to produce a line of products that helps our users achieve a healthy and active lifestyle whether hydrating at the gym, home, trailside or on a mountain peak.

Please feel free to contact us at eric.hansen@thermofisher.com with any questions or concerns you may have.

Eric Hansen
Sr. Business Manager
Nalgene Outdoor Products

Nalgene's new stainless steel bottles are made of 100% surgical grade stainless steel with no lining or coating of any type, unlike Aluminum.

Question: Do metal bottles contain BPA?
Answer: Because aluminum is susceptible to corrosion, aluminum bottles utilize liners made with epoxy resins that may contain BPA. Nalgene does not sell aluminum bottles. In contrast, stainless steel bottles, including Nalgene Stainless Steel bottles, do not use liners of any kind and therefore do not contain BPA.

For more information on Nalgene Stainless Steel bottles, please go to
http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=74.

Question: How do I tell if my metal bottle has an epoxy lining?
Answer: It is nearly impossible to identify just by looking inside your bottle. Stainless steel bottles do not contain linings of any kind. Aluminum bottles however, do contain epoxy linings. If you have further questions about aluminum liners, please contact your bottle supplier for more information.

Question: Where can I find more information on this topic?
Answer: The February 11th, 2009 online issue of Specialty News (SNEWS), the leading trade journal in the outdoor industry reported that aluminum bottles whose plastic liners are made with epoxy most likely contain BPA. The article cited Dr. John Rost, chairman of the North American Metal Packaging Alliance (www.metal-pack.org), who stated that all epoxies worldwide utilize BPA.

Question: How reliable are tests conducted on aluminum liners?
Answer: From our experience, consumers that are concerned about BPA aren't interested in leaching tests, they are interested in materials that are BPA free, and demand confidence in manufacturers to provide the details on what's inside their bottles. That's why Nalgene offers metal bottles made only of surgical grade stainless steel, which do not use liners of any kind.