High levels of arsenic found in US Whole Foods’ bottled water brand

Bottled water manufactured by Whole Foods and sold in most of its US stores and on Amazon contains potentially harmful levels of arsenic, according to new tests by Consumer Reports (CR). CR recently tested dozens of bottled water brands and found that Starkey Spring Water, introduced by Whole Foods in 2015, had concerning levels of arsenic, ranging from 9.49 to 9.56 parts per billion (PPB), at least three times the level of every other brand tested. Federal regulations require manufacturers to limit the amount of arsenic, a potentially dangerous heavy metal, in bottled water to 10 PPB. CR experts believe that level does not adequately protect public health.

Whole Foods introduced Starkey Spring Water in 2015, with chief operating officer AC Gallo telling investors “it’s amazingly pristine water” that “naturally flows out of the ground” from a spring in Idaho. That point is reinforced on the product’s label, which declares that Starkey is “made by Mother Nature”. But in December 2016, records show that the FDA was notified of tests conducted by Florida’s bottled water regulator showing that Starkey had 11.7 PPB of arsenic, which is above the federal safety threshold. Weeks later, additional tests found 12 PPB of arsenic in samples taken from other lots.

Studies examining the effect of drinking water with levels of arsenic below 10 PPB have been ongoing for years.

Source: Guardian