Water Industry Chaos: Nanoplastics, Bacteria Recall, and New Health Offerings

Every minute, more than one million plastic bottles of water are sold around the world. Many of them become unrecycled plastic waste mere minutes or hours after they're opened. And if the bottled water industry had its way, we'd be buying even more.

However, recent headlines have begun creating a change in awareness with regards to the water industry globally, whereas specific studies done on nanoplastics and various bacteria found in some of the more 'popular' brands of water have set off alarms to concerned consumers and social communities.

Bottled water companies have always promoted their product as "safer," but that's far from the truth when you look into the science and facts. In the United States, bottled water is under weaker regulations than tap water, and when it comes to chemicals, microbes, and radioactive material, testing for bottled water is less stringent than tap water.

Recently, over 78,000 cases of Fiji water sold across the United States online have been recalled due to the possible presence of manganese and three additional "bacterial genera," according to the Food and Drug Administration. Add this situation to the growing concern over the negative effects doctors and researchers worldwide are proving with nanoplastics being found in our water bottles; people are asking for strict changes to be made on all levels.

Plastics are a part of our everyday lives, and plastic pollution is a growing concern, yes. However, daily plastics in our bodies are an extreme health risk. When plastics break down over time, they can form smaller particles called microplastics, which are 5 mm or less in length—smaller than a sesame seed. Microplastics, in turn, can break down into even smaller pieces called nanoplastics, which are less than 1 μm in size. Unable to be seen with the naked eye, these are small enough to enter the body's cells and tissues.

Previous research on those drinking from all types of plastic bottled water (especially bottles exposed to heat and sunlight) has found extreme evidence and cases of plastic particles in human blood, lungs, gut, feces, and reproductive tissues like the placenta and testes. Researchers in 2023 and into 2024 now have found that, on average, a liter of bottled water includes about 240,000 tiny pieces of plastic. About 90% of these plastic fragments were nanoplastics. This total was 10 to 100 times more plastic particles than seen in earlier studies done a few years ago, which mostly focused on larger microplastics.

So, how can one be sure not to 'drink plastic'? The answer is simple: drink from glass or aluminum bottles rather than the typical grocery-store-bought plastic offerings. While the other options may cost more upfront, it doesn't compare to the potential long term effects and what you may have to pay if you were to fall under some health problems.

Water brands, both big and small in the United States, like Liquid Death, RAIN, Path, Happy Himalayan, and Mountain Valley, have either begun transitioning into non-plastic offerings or are already strictly selling only glass or aluminum bottles. Unfortunately, brands like Fiji Water, despite their recent massive recall, still continue to offer only plastic bottles. 

A spokesperson for Fiji Water, Melissa England, said, "99% of the affected bottles have been reclaimed, and the issue was confined to products sold through a single distributor."

But it doesn't just stop with Fiji, as the Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water brand is also under a recall by the FDA.

In April, the FDA issued a second drinking water recall for the "Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water Naturally Alkaline Electrolytes Deep Well Water 1.0 Liter" bottles. The recall was issued after consumer complaints that they noticed floating particles in some of the specific water bottles. It was determined as a Class II recall, which is defined by the FDA 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." According to the recall announcement, the Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water Naturally Alkaline Electrolytes Deep Well Water bottles were sold in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Colorado. The recall states that there was "no foreign distribution" for the specific product.

Liquid Death has brought a lot of attention forward using the ubiquitous #deathtoplastic hashtag on social media and making a promise to consumers that a portion of profits will help kill plastic pollution, although their shipping containers do include plastic shrink-wrap which has concerned some via social media.

Happy Himalayan, a color-changing new water offering on the market packaged in cardboard box containers, has also started making waves as an alternative to plastic offerings. It has separated itself as "Water You Can Be Happy About!" and has fully gone the all-natural route—as water should be. They have infused their Artesian water with a natural electrolyte, Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, a first on the market here in the United States, which provides 84 trace minerals, the most trace minerals of any natural salt in the world, which are vital to our bodies ability to absorb water. This, while being bottled in aluminum locally in the United States from an Artesian, fully solar-powered bottling source, gives hope to our future that at least some companies are looking to create a change while also reducing their carbon footprint.

The water industry as a whole must embrace several changes in the coming years due to these new headline-making facts that consumers just simply cannot ignore any longer, as well as other factors, including rapid urbanisation, severe climate changes, rising customer demands, and emerging digital technologies. These changes will present businesses with a complex set of challenges that could be worth addressing in order to stay competitive within the industry, while others will have to change their ways in order to survive. Consumers are no longer turning a blind eye to issues that keep rising, and the 'big companies' who have tried to monopolize the industry are no longer safe from new options that are being presented.