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Bottled water manufactured by Whole Foods and sold in its stores in the USA. USA It contains potentially harmful levels of arsenic, at least three times that of any other brand tested and just the federal limit, according to Consumer Reports.
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Bottled water manufactured by Whole Foods and sold in its stores in the USA. USA Contains potentially harmful levels of arsenic, at least three times that of any other proven brand and just below the federal limit,
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Photo: Getty Images
Bottled water manufactured by Whole Foods and sold in its stores in the USA. USA It contains potentially harmful levels of arsenic, at least three times that of any other brand tested and just the federal limit, according to Consumer Reports.
Less
Bottled water manufactured by Whole Foods and sold in its stores in the USA. USA Contains potentially harmful levels of arsenic, at least three times that of any other proven brand and just below the federal limit,
… plus
Photo: Getty Images
Bottled water manufactured by Whole Foods and sold in its stores in the USA. USA It contains potentially harmful levels of arsenic, at least three times that of any other brand tested and just the federal limit, according to Consumer Reports.
Tests for the Starkey Spring Water label showed levels of arsenic ranging from 9.49 to 9.5 parts per billion, the nonprofit consumer advocacy group said. The federal threshold is 10 parts per billion, according to Consumer Reports, and of the 45 brands tested from February to May, Starkey was the only brand with arsenic levels that exceeded 3 parts per billion.
In an e-mailed statement, Whole Foods said, “The company’s top priority is to provide customers with safe, high-quality and refreshing spring water.”
“Beyond the annual tests required by [a U.S. Food and Drug Administration] “In a certified laboratory, we have a third-party accredited laboratory test in each water production cycle before it is sold,” the statement said. “These products meet all of the FDA requirements and fully comply with the FDA standards for heavy metals.”
Starkey Spring Water is also transported by Amazon, although it was listed as “currently not available” on the e-commerce site on Wednesday morning. (Whole Foods is a unit of Amazon, whose CEO Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post.) It still sells at Whole Foods stores and on their website for $ 1.99 for a pint bottle. According to their product label, Starkey Spring Water originates from Starkey Hot Springs in Idaho and is “basically good. 11,000 years old.”
Whole Foods introduced Starkey Spring Water in 2015. The following year, according to Consumer Reports, the retailer recalled more than 2,000 boxes of water after tests showed arsenic levels approaching or exceeding the federal limit of 10 parts per billion. In 2019, Consumer Reports tests showed that Starkey Spring’s water contained levels near or above the federal limit of 10 parts per billion.
James Dickerson, chief scientific officer for Consumer Reports, said drinking a bottle probably won’t harm people. But he cautioned that the risk increases with regular use.
“Regular consumption of even small amounts of heavy metals for long periods of time increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and lower IQ scores in children, and also raises other health problems,” Dickerson said in a Press release.
