Bottled water sold across 6 US states recalled over fear of 'foreign substance'

The company did not specify what the water was contaminated with or how many it affected.

PUBLISHED JAN 17, 2026

Representative image of a woman buying water. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by sergeyryzhov)

Product recalls due to contamination have been rampant in the country of late, but the last thing people want to be concerned about is water. Yet that is exactly what was recalled, which is a serious cause for concern. Water is a product that is consumed in a matter of days after its purchase, even before people have the opportunity to learn that the product might pose certain health risks. What’s worse is that the recall did not even have any details.

Avoid drinking bottled water as it adds to unnecessary monthly costs|Pexels|Photo by Andrea Piacquadio — Representative image of a woman drinking water. (Image credit: Pexels|Photo by Andrea Piacquadio)

As per a report in Fox News, tens of thousands of gallons of bottled water were recalled recently after officials discovered a floating black foreign substance in it. The company was Michigan-based Meijer Distribution Inc., which distributed the products in cases of four to six states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The recall affected 38,043 gallons of Meijer Steam Distilled Water, which were sold in 128 fluid-ounce (1 gallon) plastic jugs with red plastic lids.

The sell-by date is Oct. 4, 2026, and the product's lot code is 39-222 #3. Meijer issued the recall in November 2025, and officials are still reviewing the situation. The difficult part of it all is that the company did not specify what the foreign object in their product was, how it could affect those who consume it, or if there had been any cases in which someone had fallen sick as a result of drinking that water.

Water is not free everywhere. Image Source: Pexels|Photo by Pixabay — Representative image of water being poured into a glass. (Image Source: Pexels|Photo by Pixabay)

Even the FDA did not slap a warning label onto the product, which it usually doesn’t take too long to do in such cases. That’s what the federal body did when it had to recall 40,000 cases of two tater tot brands over concerns regarding plastic contamination. The company was the popular McCain Foods USA Inc, and the FDA had slapped a Class-II warning level on the affected products.

What this means is that if consumed, the product could lead to “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.” The report also states that the recall affects 21,256 cases of the Ore-Ida Tater Tots shaped potatoes, with the item number OIF00215A and UPC 1 00 72714 00215 8, as well as 17,597 cases of Sysco Imperial Potato Tater Barrels, with the item number 1000006067 and UPC 1 07 34730 62740 0.

Representative image of tater tots. (Image credit: Getty Images | Photo by Gado)

These tater tots of two brands were sold in 26 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Thankfully, no serious illnesses have been reported that can be attributed to these products.

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