People like Gwyneth Paltrow tout alkaline water as a health tonic. She even squeezes lemon into her alkaline water. I wasn't paying a lot of attention in middle school chemistry, but I do seem to remember that mixing a base and and and acid yields a salt. So is Paltrow actually a brackish water aficianado and not an alkaline water aficionado? Perhaps someone with actually knowledge can enlighten me in the comments. Anyway, I digress. What I wanted to say is that a company called Real Water has been accused by the FDA of making a toxic batch of alkaline drinking water that poisoned 25 people, including five children who suffered liver failure and one person who died. The FDA issued an alert that said, "Do not drink, cook with, sell, or serve 'Real Water' alkaline water"
From Ars Technica:
The saga began in November and December of 2020, when the five children—ranging in age from seven months to five years—became severely ill with acute liver failure after drinking the water. They were hospitalized and later transferred to a children's hospital for a potential liver transplant—though they all subsequently recovered without a transplant. Local health officials investigating the unusual cluster found that family members had also been sickened. The only common link between the cases was the alkalized water, which Real Water claimed was a healthier alternative to tap water.
In mid-March, the Food and Drug Administration contacted Real Water about the cases and urged the company to recall their water, which was sold in multiple states, including Nevada, California, Utah, and Arizona. Real Water agreed to issue the recall. However, by the end of the month, the FDA reported that retailers were still selling the potentially dangerous water, and the regulator tried to warn consumers directly. By then, Nevada health officials had linked the water to six additional cases, including three more children, bringing the total to 11.
Now, according to the new report, the tally has increased to 25: 18 probable cases and four suspected cases in Nevada, as well as three probable cases in California.
