More than 650,000 plastic water bottles have been recalled due to being produced ‘under insanitary conditions.’
The FDA issued an alert for Valley Springs 100% Natural Bottled Water sold in Illinois and Wisconsin.
However, the recall was voluntarily initiated by the Wisconsin-based Valley Springs Artesian Gold.
While details are limited, insanitary conditions mean the prepared, packed, or held under conditions that could allow it to become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health.
Impacted products include the one-gallon 100% Natural Bottled Water (UPC 0 31193-00701 9), the 2.5-gallon 100% Natural Bottled Water (UPC 0 31193-01501 4) and the one-gallon Infant Water, which is labeled ‘Not sterile.’
Also included are the one-gallon Daisy’s Doggy Water, labeled ‘100% Pure Water. No Chlorine’ (UPC 0 31193-90100 3), the one-gallon 100% Natural Bottled Water (UPC 0 31193-01301 0) and the one-gallon Steamed Distilled Water (UPC 0 31193-00601 2).
The recall was put into effect on February 6 and was recently raised to a Class II recall on February 26.
The FDA defines a Class II recall as ‘a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.’
While details are limited, insanitary conditions mean the prepared, packed, or held under conditions that could allow it to become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health (STOCK)
A total of 651,148 products are included in the recall.
Valley Springs Artesian Gold informed distributors and the public about the recall through a mix of email, fax, letters, phone calls and in-person notifications, according to an FDA filing.
However, the FDA reported that no dedicated press release was issued specifically for this recall.
The recall is still active, and the FDA has not announced an end date.
Consumers in Illinois and Wisconsin who purchased one-gallon Valley Springs bottled water should check the UPC codes and stop using any affected products.
Retailers and distributors have been instructed to remove the recalled items from shelves immediately.
The February recall follows a 2025 study that found that bottled water may contain dangerous levels of microplastics that can slip through the body’s defenses and lodge in vital organs, potentially increasing the risk of cancer.
The study, led by Sara Sajedi, a leading environmental management expert at Concordia University, found that people who regularly drink bottled water consume around 90,000 more microplastic particles each year than those who drink tap water.
The FDA issued an alert for Valley Springs 100% Natural Bottled Water sold in Illinois and Wisconsin
The potential health effects of ingesting these microscopic fragments have been increasingly documented, with research linking them to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, hormonal disruption, infertility, neurological damage and cancer.
Sajedi described the health risks posed by single-use plastic bottles as ‘serious’, and called for greater awareness of what she described as a ‘pressing issue.’
‘Education is the most important action we can take,’ she said. ‘Drinking water from plastic bottles is fine in an emergency, but it is not something that should be used in daily life.
People need to understand that the issue is not acute toxicity, it is chronic toxicity.’
Despite growing evidence of harm, scientists say the long-term effects of microplastic exposure are still poorly understood, largely due to a lack of standardised testing and global monitoring.
Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments measuring as little as two micrometers, about two-thousandths of a millimeter.
Writing in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, Sajedi said: ‘They can also contribute to intestinal dysbiosis, disrupt the balance of gut bacteria, and may lead to respiratory diseases when inhaled.
‘These wide-ranging chronic health risks highlight the importance of recognizing and addressing the impact of nano- and microplastics to safeguard human health.’
