Safety and Storage
Safe Use of Our Products
Over the course of the last several years, we have been reducing the plastic in our bottles and caps, making our packaging lighter and more environmentally friendly. The bottle and cap on many of our products have been reduced in weight in order to use a minimum amount of plastic. In light of that, we have applied the following label statement on several of our bottle sizes, including our popular half liter bottles: WARNING: Cap is a small part and poses a CHOKING HAZARD, particularly for children. We have similar label statements on our 23.7 ounce (700ml) sports bottles due to the small parts in that cap).
Consumers should be advised that small parts, including our caps, should not be put in the mouth. And, that caps should always be replaced securely on bottles or discarded promptly when not in use.
BlueTriton Brands, Inc. provides consumers of all ages with a variety of healthful, on-the-go beverage options to enjoy any time of day. We regularly conduct tests on all of our bottles and our waters for safety, quality and performance. The safety and quality of our bottled water products are our top priorities.
· Water Source Identification: BlueTriton Brands, Inc. identifies water sources on its bottle labels and/or Opens in new windowin its quality reports.
· Purified water products are treated by reverse osmosis, UV and ozone disinfection for added safety assurance and enhanced with minerals for consistent and pleasing taste. Bottled water products from each NWNA bottling line are tested 200 times per day to ensure quality.
· Quality Reports: Since 2005, we have made Opens in new windowquality reports publicly available for all of our brands and are based on independent testing results from certified laboratories.
· Easy Consumer Access to Information: Consumer questions and comments can be directed to our toll-free number, which is listed on the label of each bottle.
Storage and Handling
To maintain the high quality of our bottled water products, we recommend people store all of our products in a cool, clean, or shaded location, as they would any other packaged food product.
Food Packaging Safety & Regulation:
We use packaging that fits into the lifestyles of today’s busy consumers, has as minimal an environmental impact as possible, and is considered safe by regulatory and public health agencies. We evaluate new packaging materials and make changes to our products when there is a clear environmental, health and/or economic benefit.
· The Opens in new windowU.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for overseeing the safety of bottled water, which, like other food products such as infant formula and seafood, must be processed, packaged, shipped and stored in a safe and sanitary manner, and be truthfully and accurately labeled. Bottled water is one of the most regulated food products, with FDA protocols specific to bottled water processing and labeling.
· Chemicals from plastic packaging can migrate over time, but the FDA sets conservative limits for the amounts it considers safe for human consumption. NWNA and our suppliers comply with the FDA’s packaging and health-based regulations.
· Our single serve bottles are made from PET plastic. The FDA classifies PET as safe for human use and has authorized its use for decades. PET itself is an inert substance, meaning it migrates very slowly. As long as bottled water is stored at room temperature or cooler it is considered safe for human consumption. It should be consumed before the expiration or “use by” date printed on the packaging.
· Bisphenol-A (BPA) is not present in our bottled water packaging smaller than three gallons. Our single-serve bottles (typically 1.5 liters and smaller) are made from PET plastic (marked with the “1” symbol), which is flexible and lightweight. Our three-liter, one-gallon and 2.5-gallon sizes are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), identified by the “2” symbol.
· Today, the majority of the bottles produced by our company are made with virgin plastic and are BPA free. This includes our “single serve” bottles, ranging from 8 ounces to 1.5 Liters, and our “multi-serve” sizes, ranging from 3 Liter to our 3 and 5-gallon bottles for water coolers. “BPA Free” is a term than can only be used with certain types of “virgin plastic” bottles, meaning bottles made only with new plastic material that has not been previously used, sterilized, and re-made into plastic pellets. As a company, we have started to use recycled plastic in our bottles and eventually would like all of our bottles to be made with 100% recycled plastic. In this way, we can give new life to some of the existing plastic in our society, helping to keep it out of landfill and waterways. Our recycled plastic meets or exceeds all FDA guidelines and will continue to do so. Our recycled plastic bottles are made from recycled PET (rPET) plastic that is carefully collected, screened and sorted to keep other types of plastics from entering the rPET manufacturing process. Given the nature and variability of the recycling streams, however, the rPET bottles may not be absolutely free of other types of plastic 100% of the time. Product testing clearly shows that only a very small fraction of the plastic resin that makes rPET bottles may have trace levels of other types of plastics and that any possible detection of BPA from other plastics that could be present in the collection recycling stream would be at trace levels.
Recycling and Reuse of Bottles
We recommend that our water bottles be recycled, not reused. Every bottle produced by NWNA is recyclable.
Our single serve bottles are not intended for multiple uses since PET plastic can break down from repeated washings and reuse, eventually allowing human bacteria into the contents. Instead, we recommend the bottles be used once and then recycled. Our 3- and 5-gallon home and office delivery containers are made of polycarbonate and are each vigorously cleaned and reused as many as 35 times before they're recycled. Consumers can reduce the overall environmental impact associated with drinking a bottle of water by 25%, just by recycling the bottle after use. Recycled bottles are in high demand for use in products such as fabric, carpeting and other consumer goods.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission – Recall Alert
Recall Date: July 18, 2017
Recall Number: 17-760
Nestlé Waters North America Recalls AccuPure Water Dispensers Due to Fire and Burn Hazard (Recall Alert)
Recall Summary
Name of Product: AccuPure floor standing filtration dispensers
Hazard: The dispensers can overheat and smoke, posing fire and burn hazards.
Remedy: Replace
Consumers should immediately unplug the water dispensers and stop using them. Nestlé Waters is contacting affected customers directly to schedule installation of a replacement unit. Customers with questions should contact Nestlé Waters.
Consumer Contact: Nestlé Waters toll-free at 844-895-9691 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET Saturday, or online at www.readyrefresh.com and click on “Safety & Storage” at the bottom of the page for more information.
Recall Details
Units: About 12,300
Description: This recall involves Nestlé Waters AccuPure floor standing filtration dispenser with model number HB215-3G (black) and model number HW215-3G (white). They measure 44.6 inches tall by 12.5 inches wide. The units connect to the customer location’s plumbing system, draw and filter water from the local system, and then dispense the filtered water through the unit. The upper front panels of the units have an “AccuPure” logo and an illuminated clock display. The model number can be found on a white sticker on the back of the dispenser.
Incidents/Injuries: Nestlé Waters has received 15 reports of overheating, including seven reports of units emitting smoke or catching fire. No injuries have been reported.
Sold at: These units were sold and rented to businesses nationwide from April 2011 through April 2017 as part of individual service contracts with Nestlé Waters. A limited number of units were purchased by these consumers for between $700 and $900, depending on the filtration system used. Nestlé Waters does not sell or provide these units at retail.
Importer: Nestlé Waters North America Inc., of Stamford, Conn. or MTN Products Inc., of La Verne, Calif.
Distributor: Nestlé Waters North America Inc., of Stamford, Conn.
Manufacturer: Water Solutions (Hong Kong) Limited of Hong Kong.
Manufactured in: China
Photos
Photo 1:Nestlé Waters AccuPure floor standing filtration dispenser - HB215-3G
Photo 2: Nestlé Waters AccuPure floor standing filtration dispenser - HW215-3G
Photo 3: Location of Model Number
About U.S. CPSC:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to Opens in new windowwww.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at Opens in new windowwww.cpsc.gov, on Twitter@USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC’s Opens in new windowfree e-mail newsletters.
CPSC Consumer Information Hotline
Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:
800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)
Times: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime
Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.
Media Contact
Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests.
Phone: 301-504-7908
Spanish: 301-504-7800