38,000 gallons of bottled water recalled because of ‘foreign substance’
Tens of thousands of gallons of bottled water sold across the Midwest are being recalled after a black, floating substance was found inside some jugs.
The recall affects 38,043 gallons of Meijer Steam Distilled Water sold in large, one-gallon plastic jugs with red caps.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, the affected water was sold in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. The jugs were distributed by Michigan-based Meijer Distribution and sold in cases of four.
The recalled water is a store-brand product sold by Meijer, a privately owned, family-run retailer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Meijer operates more than 500 supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets and express locations across the Midwest.
Customers should check for a sell-by date of October 4, 2026, and lot code 39-222 #3 on the jug.
Meijer voluntarily started the recall in November 2025, and regulators say their review is still ongoing. The company has not said what the black substance was, how it was discovered, or whether anyone became sick.
So far, the FDA has not assigned the recall a classification. These classifications help explain the potential health risk to consumers.
Tens of thousands of gallons of bottled water sold across several Midwest states are being recalled
The recall covers 38,043 gallons of Meijer Steam Distilled Water sold in 128-fluid-ounce (one-gallon) plastic jugs with red caps
A Class I recall is the most serious and means there is a reasonable chance the product could cause serious health problems or death.
Class II means the product could cause temporary or reversible health effects, or that serious harm is unlikely.
And Class III is used when exposure is not expected to cause health problems.
A similar recall was issued in 2024, when Berkeley Club Beverages was forced to recall 150,000 water bottles sold in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland after the FDA found coliforms in the product.
Coliform bacteria is an indicator that there may be more harmful microorganisms in present, including E. coli which can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and watery or bloody diarrhea.
