Cancer-Causing Chemical Found in Dr. Pepper, Whole Foods Water

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
April 19, 2019Health
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Cancer-Causing Chemical Found in Dr. Pepper, Whole Foods Water
Customers leave the Whole Foods Market in Boulder, Colorado, on May 10, 2017. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)

An investigation uncovered dangerous levels of arsenic, a cancer-causing chemical, in bottled water from Dr. Pepper and Whole Foods.

The investigation was undertaken by Consumer Reports, a watchdog that analyzes a range of consumer products.

Consumer Reports found that Keurig Dr. Pepper’s bottled water, sold under the Peñafiel brand name, contains 70 percent more arsenic than United States standards permit.

Arsenic can slowly build up in a human body over time and cause cancer or diabetes.

NTD Photo
A woman drinks water from a plastic bottle in a file photo. (Fred Tanneau/AFP/Getty Images)

Another five brands also contained more arsenic than the figure Consumer Reports considers safe, which is lower than the standard level, including Whole Foods’ Starkey water.

Consumer Reports said that Whole Foods has recalled more than 2,000 cases of Starkey water since introducing it in 2015 after tests by regulators showed a level of arsenic that was higher than the permitted level of 10 parts per billion.

Whole Foods internal testing showed results just under the federal limit, from 9.48 to 9.86 parts per billion, with one of four samples testing just above the limit. The watchdog said that it is still at levels that pose risks to people if regularly consumed as it urged the company to recall the water. It advises people not to regularly consume water that is at or above 3 parts per billion, adding: “current research suggests that amounts above that level are potentially dangerous to drink over extended periods of time.”

Consumer Reports showed the research to Whole Foods and said it had recently analyzed Starkey samples from the same lot that Consumer Reports analyzed.

The company said the tests “show these products are fully compliant with FDA standards for heavy metals.” The company also said it tests “every production run of water before it is sold.”

cancer treatment
In this May 2017 file photo, chemotherapy drugs are administered to a patient. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

“We would never sell products that do not meet FDA requirements,” the company’s statement said.

Of the 130 brands that Consumer Reports tested, 11 had detectable amounts of arsenic and of those, six had levels of 3 parts per billion or higher.

The other four brands are Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water, Volic, Crystal Creamery, and Earth H2O. It also said that it was able to purchase Jermuk from Armenia and Peñafiel from Mexico despite the two brands having an import alert issued by the federal government for having arsenic levels above the federal limit.

Keurig Dr. Pepper said in March that its water didn’t have detectable amounts of arsenic but said in an update that because of the watchdog report, it re-tested the water and found levels at an average of 17 parts per billion. It said that it suspended bottled water production for two weeks at the facility in Mexico that makes the water for export to the United States, planning to improve filtration at the plant.

“Because the health and safety of our consumers is our top priority, as soon as we received the test results, we took immediate action by stopping production at the Mexico facility in question, working with outside experts, and consulting with the FDA, which is supportive of our action plan,” said Katie Gilroy, a spokesperson for Keurig Dr Pepper, in a statement.

Still, it said that it would not issue a recall.

“An arsenic level of 17 ppb is a clear violation of the federal bottled water standard of 10 ppb,” said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumer Reports. “Keurig Dr. Pepper should recall all Peñafiel water currently on the market that may contain these violative levels. If they do not act, the FDA should mandate a recall.”

As an example of the health dangers of drinking water with certain levels of arsenic, Consumer Reports cited a 2017 study done by researchers in Iowa that linked low-level arsenic exposure from drinking water to prostate cancer.

Bottled water also has other health issues.

In 2018, Sheri Mason, a chemist at the State University of New York at Fredonia tested 259 brands of bottled water for plastic.

“Of the 259 total bottles processed, 93% showed some sign of microplastic contamination,” Mason wrote in the abstract for the study, which was published in Frontiers in Chemistry in September. “Given the prevalence of the consumption of bottled water across the globe, the results of this study support the need for further studies on the impacts of micro- and nano- plastics on human health.”

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