Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water Contains Arsenic, Class Action Says

A recent class action lawsuit claims that Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water contains toxic levels of arsenic.

Plaintiff John Pels alleges that he and other California consumers face serious health risks by ingesting the high levels of arsenic in Peñafiel waters.

Pels also claims that manufacturing company Keurig knew or should have known about the poison’s presence in their water but did not act to resolve the problem.

“Hazardous water is of no use and of no value to consumers, and threatens their health. Keurig has acted irresponsibly and unlawfully in connection with Peñafiel water, and appears to have engaged in an attempt to conceal the truth,” the Keurig class action states.

In addition to being poisonous to humans, arsenic can have several long term health effects including heart problems, cancer, kidney disease, and diabetes.

The Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water class action points to a May 2019 study published in American Heart Association Journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging that found that “low-level arsenic exposure is associated with a disproportionate growth of the heart independent of hypertension and other traditional risk factors.”

The study reportedly also found that exposure to arsenic can cause heart damage after only five years of exposure to low-to-moderate levels of the poison.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC) also classifies arsenic as “carcinogenic to human.” The chemical has reportedly been shown to cause lung cancer, bladder cancer, and skin cancer.

Other studies have shown that arsenic can cause chronic kidney disease which can lead to kidney failure. The chemical is reportedly also linked to diabetes due to the face that arsenic interferes with insulin secretion in the pancreas.

Due to the damaging risks associated with arsenic, federal and state regulations require water and water-based products to have no more than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic.

Despite these regulations, Peñafiel Mineral Water allegedly contains high levels of arsenic and has contained the toxin since 2012. In 2015 and again in 2018, the (FDA) reportedly issued import alerts that products including Peñafiel water contained inorganic arsenic.

In April 2019, Consumer Reports released their own report on the issue of arsenic in bottled water brands such as Peñafiel.

The report included analysis of 130 bottled water brands, 11 of which contained detectable levels of arsenic. Of these 11 brands, Peñafiel reportedly stood out for its high levels of arsenic.

According to the class action lawsuit, Consumer Reports revealed that Peñafiel Mineral Water contained 17 ppb of arsenic, a significant 70 percent increase from the legal limit set by regulatory officials. After this report, the Mexican Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer reportedly started an investigation into the issue.

Pels seeks to represent a Class of California consumers who purchased any Peñafiel beverages. The Peñafiel spring water class action lawsuit seeks restitution, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Pels is represented by David N. Lake of Law Offices of David N. Lake PC, Laurence D. Paskowitz of The Paskowitz Law Firm PC, and Roy L. Jacobs of Roy Jacobs & Associates.

The Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water Class Action Lawsuit is Pels v. Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., Case No. 3:19-cv-03052, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Nov. 7, 2019, the Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to warn the public about unsafe arsenic levels in some of its bottled water was dismissed, with leave to amend.

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