FDA Releases Results from Bottled Water PFAS Testing
Apr 24, 2025
The FDA has released final results from its nationwide testing of domestic and imported bottled water for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), examining 197 samples from retail locations across the U.S. The tests included purified, artesian, spring, and mineral waters. Of those samples, ten contained detectable levels of PFAS, but none exceeded the EPA’s maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS in public drinking water. This indicates that the presence of PFAS in these bottled water samples does not currently pose a regulatory health risk under existing federal standards.
PFAS are a group of persistent, manmade chemicals that resist degradation and can accumulate in the environment and human body, potentially leading to serious health issues. The FDA tested for 18 PFAS types in total, focusing especially on six that the EPA has already established limits for. The ten samples with detectable PFAS had between one and four types present in domestic brands, and one or two in imported brands. Notably, four of the PFAS detected were below the EPA limits, while two others lack defined MCLs, leaving some uncertainty about their long-term health implications.
Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA is required to establish quality standards for contaminants in bottled water when the EPA sets MCLs for the same substances in public drinking water. If the FDA does not set such standards or deems them unnecessary for public safety, the EPA’s MCLs apply by default. This regulatory framework allows the FDA to take enforcement action if a bottled water product is found to present a health risk, even if a specific contaminant lacks its own bottled water quality standard.
For more information, see the original article and the analytical results.
