by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The head of sustainability for the Co-operative, Paul Monaghan, admitted he had been in talks with the supermarket's far eastern suppliers over the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in till receipts.
Mr. Monaghan, who was speaking at the Environment Agency's annual conference in London on November 24, 2010 briefly mentioned the presence of Bisphenol A, also known as BPA during his presentation.
Although, his mention was quick he was questioned on it by a member of the audience and further pushed by the conference chair BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin.
BPA, which was declared a toxic substance in Canada only in September this year, has been linked to causing development problems with unborn children, and in addition to that is being seen as the culprit in the loss of fertility on males, plus many other health problems of children and adults.
It has, in the past, been widely used in consumer products, but scientific tests highlighted concerns about it in 2007 and since 2008 it has been mostly removed from consumer products, or at least so we are being told.
It was not until last year that SIGG produced new bottles without BPA containing liners, Gaiam fell foul of the claim that its bottles did not contain BPA, and Nalgene had to change its polycarbonate material of the bottles as Canada made them do so.
Responding to the questions from the floor, and Mr Harrabin, Mr Monaghan said he would demand BPA was removed.
He said: "I say to the suppliers get rid of it, then we have a discussion. The start point is, if I can get rid of it, I will."
© 2010
