Read the full article by Tiffany Kary (Bloomberg)

“Carbonated waters from LaCroix, Topo Chico, Poland Spring and Perrier all have levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, called PFAS, that are slightly higher than what some scientists deem safe, according to a report from Consumer Reports.

Seven of 12 brands were highlighted as having higher levels of PFAS in the report. While none of them exceeded the suggested levels for tap water from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that limit is seen by many scientists and some state regulators as too lax. The beverage industry’s trade group and several of the manufacturers called the testing flawed and said their products are safe.

The report from the nonprofit consumer watchdog also found that Deer Park, a popular brand of still water sold by Nestle SA, has higher levels of PFAS. Unlike fizzy water, most non-carbonated water didn’t exceed the threshold of 1 part per trillion, according to Consumer Reports.

‘I was surprised that so many of the carbonated bottled waters contain PFAS,’ Brian Ronholm, director of food policy for Consumer Reports, said in a phone interview. At the same time, ‘there’s a good story overall for non-carbonated water, in that virtually all of the brands tested below our recommended level.’

Ronholm said it wasn’t clear whether the chemicals’ concentrations had somehow been increased through carbonation, or if some brands hadn’t filtered the chemicals out of the source water that they used.

Topo Chico, owned by Coca-Cola Co., had the worst score of carbonated waters, with 9.76 parts per trillion. Most brands tested were only slightly above 1 part per trillion, with Poland Spring at 1.66, Canada Dry at 1.24, LaCroix at 1.16 and Perrier at 1.1. For non-carbonated water, Deer Park tested at 1.21 parts per trillion.

Industry Responses

The International Bottled Water Association has set a PFAS standard of 5 parts per trillion for its members. The trade group, known as IBWA, said in an email that the Consumer Reports testing is ‘misleading’ and ‘not based on sound science.’

National Beverage Corp., the maker of LaCroix, also disputed the testing methods and said its products are ‘subject to strict quality control and robust filtration systems.’ The company said the samples tested exceeded ‘the most stringent PFAS requirements’ in the U.S…”