Bottled water that health officials say contains elevated levels of potentially dangerous chemicals is still being sold at stores across New England, according to a Boston Globe report.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health warned on July 2 that bottled spring water sold by Haverhill, Massachusetts-based Spring Hill Farm Dairy Inc. contained elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
DPH officials said the water contained high enough levels of PFAS that it should not be consumed by people who are pregnant or breastfeeding or by bottle-fed infants. They added that the chemicals are not certain to lead to health risks.
The company is defending its decision to continue selling the water, saying chemical levels in the water were within federal guidelines.
"If state or federal regulators believed there was a danger to the general public then they would not have issued an advisory which applies only to a very small segment of the population," Spring Hill Farm said in a statement.
The company added that a new filtration system was installed on July 22nd and that "all PFAS should be eliminated from bottles after that date.”
The water is reportedly sold at stores including Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, Cumberland Farms and Market Basket.
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Health officials did not require stores to warn customers or the company to issue a recall, the Globe reported.
The warning was issued after Massachusetts officials were alerted by officials in New Hampshire that PFAS levels in the company's water were four times higher than New Hampshire's standards, the Globe reported.
Spring Hill Farm is currently conducting an investigation into the source of the chemicals found in the company's spring water, according to the Department of Public Health.
PFAS are used in a variety of industry and consumer products, including firefighting foam and carpets.
