A Consumer Reports survey reveals "potentially hazardous" amounts of arsenic in six brands of bottled water, including one from Whole Foods

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A Whole Foods grocery store was seen in New York City in 2018.

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Michael Brochstein / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

• Consumer Reports released the results of an investigation
  in the arsenic levels in bottled water on Thursday.
• The federal limit for arsenic levels found in bottles
  water is 10 parts per billion (ppb), but CR noted that
  research indicates that water can be dangerous to ingest more
  time if it contains as much as 3 ppb of arsenic.
• The CR investigation revealed the brand of Mexican bottled water
  Peñafiel contained higher arsenic levels at federal levels
  limit, and five others with arsenic levels at 3 ppd or more –
  including the Whole Foods brand of water.
• Visit INSIDER.com for more
  stories.

Whole Foods' bottled water brand, Starkey Water, contains arsenic
it is high enough to cause damage if it is ingested regularly,
according to a new survey conducted by Consumer Reports.

Arsenic is a natural element of the earth's crust
which is distributed in the environment in the air,
water and land, according to the World Health Organization.
There are dangerous amounts of arsenic in some water sources,
and can cause problems like skin lesions and cancer. But
companies can remove arsenic from water before it is distributed.

Despite the existence of a technology capable of reducing arsenic
levels, CR found that 11 of the more than 130 bottles of bottled water
the brands interrogated contained detectable amounts of arsenic.

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Inside a Whole Foods grocery store is visible in Dublin. California in June 2017.

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Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images

The federal limit for arsenic levels found in bottles
the water is 10 parts per billion, but CR said the current research
suggests that arsenic can be "potentially dangerous" if regularly
ingested at levels of 3 ppb.

CR indicated that six brands either declared themselves or were found through
its own tests, to have arsenic levels equal to or greater than 3 ppb. Those
brands include:

• Peñafiel (the company reported finding an average arsenic
  17 ppb level)
• The Whole Foods brand of water, Starkey (9.8 ppb)
• Crystal Creamery (5 ppb)
• Volvic (4 ppb)
• Geyser Crystal, Alpine spring water (3.8 ppb)
• EarthH20 (3 ppb)

Read more: Tuna used in the restaurant and
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makes 13 people sick in 7 states

Peñafiel, one of the CR tested brands, surpbaded the federal government
limit, with an average arsenic content of 18.1 parts per billion when
CR tested three bottles of water.

Peñafiel's parent company, Keurig Dr. Pepper, told CR that it was
suspend production at its Mexican site while the company
improves filtration, but does not plan to recall bottles
currently on the market.

Regarding Whole Foods, the grocery chain made a statement to CR
saying that the company has done an internal badysis of its water
and stated that the tests "show that these products are fully compliant with
FDA standards for heavy metals. "The chain added that she is testing
"every cycle of water production before sale."

"We will never sell products that do not meet the requirements of the FDA"
the company said.

Business Insider previously
reported that for most Americans, research suggests water in
a bottle is not better than your faucet. In fact, a
report revealed that almost half of all bottled water is derived
tap, although it can be treated or tested.