Bottled water is a huge industry in this country. Many people prefer the taste of bottled water over tap water. Others are worried about possible contamination in tap water or the chemicals used to clean it. But water is water. Contamination can happen even at a bottled water plant.
Niagara Bottling is recalling fourteen, yes fourteen, different brands of bottled water after they discovered that one of their sources was contaminated with E. coli. It’s a voluntary recall and no illnesses have been reported yet due to contaminated water. The water in question was bottled between June 10th and June 18th.
Here’s how to recognize whether the bottled water you have may be contaminated. First, here are the affected brands:
- Acadia
- Acme
- Big Y
- Best Yet
- 7-11
- Niagara
- Nature’s Place
- Pricerite
- Superchill
- Morning Fresh
- Shaws
- Shoprite
- Western Beef Blue
- Wegman’s
If you have a bottle of one of these brands, there will be a code on the bottle. If the first letter is an A or an F, you are safe. This means they weren’t bottled in Pennsylvania where the contamination happened. If it does start with these letters, skip the next number and look at the next two digits. That will tell you the day, followed by the month in printed letters. Bottles marked from 10JUN to 18JUN should be boiled first or not used.
Bottled water has its uses, but for day-to-day drinking for your business it’s best to use a dedicated water filter. Filters can remove the taste of chemicals and prevent infections from sources like E. coli. If you would like to have your system examined, contact Metro Water Filter for a quote.