SALT LAKE CITY – An alkaline water company with a bottling plant in Utah has voluntarily recalled its water following suspected links to cases of nonviral hepatitis reported in Nevada late last year, state and federal officials said.
Real Water, Inc., headquartered in Arizona and Nevada, recalled 1 and 1½ liter bottles, as well as 500 ml bottles of water distributed through Amazon in the US, including Utah, according to the Utah. Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
The company also sells 3- and 5-gallon and 4-ounce Real Water Concentrate home and office bottles, which the department said was also available for delivery services or over the Internet.
The Food and Drug Administration reported last week that 3- and 5-gallon bottles of water were being distributed to Utah. It confirmed that 5 gallon containers were being distributed in St. George through Real Water Southern Utah.
Utah officials said the company’s products are now embargoed due to the recall. They said anyone who has recalled products should “throw it away immediately and not drink or cook with it.”
“Distributors have been notified of the recall and have been instructed to immediately remove recalled products from all store shelves, distribution and other inventories to ensure that they are no longer available for sale or consumption,” the agency continued Thursday. a statement.
In an update Wednesday, FDA officials said the agency was working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the South Nevada Health District on “a number of reports” of acute nonviral hepatitis in Nevada in connection with the “Real Water.” from the company. brand alkaline water.
“The FDA is aware that ‘Real Water’ branded alkaline water is still being offered for sale through online retailers. The agency is working to locate remaining products to ensure they are no longer available to consumers.” FDA officials wrote Wednesday. “The FDA will continue to monitor this situation closely and monitor retailers when we learn that recalled products are being put up for sale.”
The agency added that due to a “lack of cooperation” by Real Water, the investigation into Real Water facilities in Henderson, Nevada and Mesa, Arizona, has yet to be completed. Officials reported on March 24 that the agency had issued a “Demand for Records” under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as a result.
The FDA first published about Real Water on March 16, three days after it said the agency had warned of five cases of nonviral hepatitis that resulted in liver failure in infants and children in the Southern Nevada health district. All five were hospitalized and recovered. Officials said consuming Real Water’s alkaline water was “the only common link identified between all of these cases so far.”
More possible cases then surfaced. The Associated Press reported last week that multiple lawsuits have been filed against the company over diseases related to Real Water. One lawsuit was filed by a Nevada man who claimed the product led to a liver transplant in 2019.
Symptoms of non-viral hepatitis include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, dark urine, clay or gray-colored stools, joint pain, yellow eyes and jaundice, according to the Department of Agriculture and Food. It can lead to serious illness and the department recommended that anyone experiencing these symptoms contact their doctor.
While primarily located in Arizona and Nevada, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food officials said Real Water has a bottling facility in Hildale, Washington County. The company posted a video message from the company’s founder and president, Brent Jones, on March 23.
In it, Jones apologized to customers for safety concerns with the company’s water products. He said it appeared that the contaminated water sources were related to home and office delivery in Las Vegas and that the company had issued a voluntary nationwide recall as a precaution.
“We started Real Water more than 13 years ago with the aim of providing a health product that benefits and improves people’s lifestyles,” he said in the video. “We are deeply saddened to hear that everything else can be the result.”