Bottled water, sports drinks and even tap water may contain a type of forever chemical that often goes undetected in routine testing. New research found the chemical in most of the samples examined, with some of the highest concentrations appearing in drinks marketed for hydration.
The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, tested 70 tap-water samples from across New Jersey and 43 commercially available bottled beverages. Researchers found a chemical called trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in more than 91% of tap-water samples and nearly 80% of bottled drinks. However, the study measured chemical levels, not whether the beverages posed a health risk.
The biggest differences appeared among the bottled beverages. Drinks with added ingredients, including sports drinks and electrolyte waters, contained an average of 52 times more TFA than plain bottled water.
Some beverages had much higher concentrations than others, and only 12 drinks with added ingredients were tested. That means the findings don't necessarily reflect what's in sports drinks or electrolyte waters generally.
Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology suspect that added ingredients or manufacturing processes might help explain the differences. But they didn't test individual ingredients, so the source of the chemical remains unknown.
TFA belongs to the broad family of PFAS, often called forever chemicals because they can persist in the environment for long periods. It can come from the breakdown of certain pesticides, refrigerants and other chemicals, eventually making its way into water supplies.
Unlike some better-known PFAS, TFA isn't routinely included in many testing programs, and scientists are still investigating the potential health effects of long-term exposure.
Finding a chemical in a beverage doesn't automatically mean it's unsafe to drink. The amount present and how frequently someone is exposed both matter, and this study wasn't designed to determine whether the measured concentrations could cause harm.
The researchers emphasize that the results represent a small snapshot of beverages and New Jersey water supplies, not a comprehensive assessment of products sold nationwide.
The research was supported in part by a faculty start-up grant from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.