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About the Company
The Nuby line of infant feeding products is a subsidiary of Luv n' Care, an international, privately-held infant and toddler products company based in Louisiana. Luv n' Care showcases its Nuby line (in fact, the luvncare.com website forwards to a site for Nuby, and no website exists for Luv n' Care itself) but also produces a variety of licensed-character products under other brand names.
In November 2007 we wrote that Luv 'n Care is "among the companies whose policies regarding the use of Bisphenol-A are the most confused and confusing in the industry. We do not recommend Nuby as a reliable, responsible source for BPA-free products, and provide the information below with the precaution that we have been provided with incomplete and inaccurate information regarding Nuby products on several occasions."
Luv 'n Care has since replaced their customer service manager and improved their communications policies, and although the company's corporate website has been offline since at least July 2006 and its European Nuby website offers misleading information regarding polycarbonate plastic content (listing many items with the code "PP" even if the product contains some polycarbonate parts), the company headquarters now performs the stopgap measure of offering a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet to any consumer who inquires about which Nuby products are BPA-free.
Joseph Hakim, one of the three brothers who run Luv 'n Care, asserted on the record with Z Recommends that the company is committed to the concept of replacing polycarbonate plastics based on parental concerns and is phasing in BPA-free versions of all of its sippy cups. Hakim stated that the company is testing alternatives for other polycarbonate Luv 'n Care products at this time, including plans to begin producing all sippy cups without polycarbonate plastics in the imminent future, and BPA-free products are beginning to be labeled as such.
Despite these improvements, Z Recommends warns consumers that Luv 'n Care's massive international reach and distribution channels ensure that newly-produced BPA-free models will not reach store shelves until late spring or summer 2008, after existing stocks of polycarbonate models have been depleted.
Because of this, Z Recommends urges consumers to only buy Nuby products when they are explicitly labeled as BPA-free for the foreseeable future. While some existing bottle and sippy lines may already be BPA-free even when unlabeled, the confusing array of product names, the company's mixed record on BPA labeling in the past, and the inaccuracies in online materials mean that Nuby products still merit trust only when explicitly labeled on product packaging as "BPA-free."
Company Rating
Fair. Nuby's policies and practices are evolving and they appear genuinely interested in phasing out polycarbonate plastic from a majority of their products. They will be eligible for a "Good" rating when more BPA-free products have passed through the supply chain onto store shelves, when they develop a BPA-free pacifier, and when ZRecs reviewers can verify clear and consistent labeling of BPA-free products.
BPA-Free Products
Bottles: Standard Neck Non-Drip Bottle, Wide-Neck Non-Drip Bottle, Wide-Neck Bottle with Handles and Non-Drip Nipple, Standard Neck Bottle with Handles and Non-Drip Nipple, 3-Stage Wide Neck Easy Grip Feeding System with Non-Drip Nipple.
Cups: No-Spill Sports Sipper, Insulated Soft Silicone Spout Cup, Soft Spout Easy Grip Cup, Gripper Cup with Soft Silicone Spout, Two-Handle Cup (10 oz), Tinted Mega Sipper w/o Flip-Top
Utensils: Infant Wash or Toss Infant's Spoon and Fork, Starter Easy Grip Spoon
Tableware: Wash or Toss Section Plate
Products Containing BPA
Bottles: Engraved Nuby Contour Bottle, 3-Stage Non-Drip Wide-Neck Bottle, Contour Bottle, Clear Printed Round Bottles (animal decorations), Clear Round Bottle with Nuby Nipple
Pacifiers: All pacifiers
Cups: No-Spill Gripper Cup, Mega Sipper with Fat Flip-It Straw Top, Two-Handle Cup with Valveless No-Spill Soft Silicone Spout with Vari-Flo Feature (7 oz), Insulated Cup with Flip-It Straw Top, Flip n Sip Cup, Grip n Sip Cup
Utensils: None
Tableware: None
Contact
Updating.
Last updated: 3/5/08
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