on September 11, 2026

Does Bottled Water Have Microplastics? What third-party testing actually shows

The bottled water aisle sells purity by the caseload. Almost none of it has been tested for the one thing more people are asking about: plastic in the water itself.

A 2024 Columbia University study measured an average of about 240,000 plastic particles per liter of bottled water, and roughly 90 percent were nanoplastics small enough to pass into human cells (PNAS, 2024). Avoiding them takes more than a promise on a label. Loonen is bottled only in glass, our caps are washed twice before application, and every batch is tested by accredited third-party labs, where the microplastic polymers we screen for come back non-detect at the laboratory's reporting limit. The results are on the bottle.

How do microplastics get into bottled water?

Microplastics in water often come from plastic packaging. A plastic bottle is not a stable container. Plastic bottles can leach tiny particles into the water they hold and this is sped up with heat, sunlight, time on a shelf, and the ordinary squeeze of handling. The 2024 Columbia study used a new imaging method to count what older tests had missed, and found bottled water carried far more plastic than anyone had previously measured. It is possible for the water to start relatively clean, but accumulate plastic from the container it is stored in.

Is bottled water even tested for microplastics?

Bottled water is usually not tested for microplastics. The FDA regulates bottled water as a food, but sets no standard for microplastics and no limit on them. Microplastics appear on the EPA's draft Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6), a watchlist for possible future study, not a rule. So testing is voluntary, and there is no requirement to publish results. A label can say "pure" without having tested for microplastics. That distance between what is claimed and what is proven is the whole problem, and it is the one Loonen was built to close.

Does glass alone solve it?

Glass is the right starting point, because unlike plastic, it is inert and does not shed microplastics into the water because it does not contain plastic. But the bottle is only part of the answer, and glass by itself is not a guarantee. What protects the water is the full process behind it: glass, unpainted caps washed and sanitized before application to remove any particles that could settle on them in transit, and third-party testing on finished goods, with our results published for anyone to read. Glass without testing is still a claim. Loonen publishes the result.

What does Loonen's testing show?

Loonen’s test results are non-detect for all microplastic polymers the accredited, third-party laboratory tests for, on every batch of Loonen, alongside PFAS, bisphenols, and phthalates. The testing is run by accredited third-party labs, and the results are linked to a QR code on the bottle and posted at loonen.com/pages/test-results.

Should you worry about the microplastics in your water?

The research is still advancing, and it is advancing in the direction of treating microplastics as an exposure worth reducing. Microplastics have been found in human blood, lungs, breast milk, and the placenta (Zuri et al., 2023), and in 2024 researchers found them lodged in the fatty plaque inside people's arteries, where their presence tracked with a higher rate of heart attacks, strokes, and death (Marfella et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2024). Studies point to how the harm may happen, through inflammation and oxidative stress inside the cells that take the particles up (Das, 2023). For a developing baby, the stakes can be higher still, since these particles have been detected at the maternal-fetal interface (Poinsignon et al., 2025).

You cannot control every source of plastic, but you can set a stronger foundation to minimize day-to-day exposure. Water is a good place to start. Install a water filtration system in your home. Prioritize drinking water out of glass containers and avoiding plastic-lined aluminum and plastic-lined cardboard. When absolutely necessary to drink out of plastic, keep plastic bottles out of hot cars and direct sun, since heat drives more plastic into the water. Do not refill single-use bottles. And when you are buying water to drink, choose a brand you can actually verify. That is the whole reason Loonen exists: water bottled in glass, tested every batch, with the test results on the label.

That distance between what is claimed and what is proven is exactly why we built Loonen.

FAQ

Does all bottled water have microplastics?

A 2024 Columbia University study found bottled water averaged about 240,000 plastic particles per liter, most of them nanoplastics (PNAS, 2024). Because the FDA does not require testing for microplastics, published measurements are rare. That’s why Loonen is independently tested by accredited labs for microplastics, forever chemicals, and hundreds of trace contaminants, and then third-party certified by the NSF. tk tk tk

Which bottled water has the fewest microplastics?

The bottled water you can trust on microplastics is the kind you can verify. Loonen is bottled only in glass and every batch is tested by accredited third-party labs, where the microplastic polymers we screen for come back non-detect at the laboratory's reporting limit, published by QR code. Glass plus independent testing is what makes that a verifiable result rather than a marketing line.

Does glass bottled water have microplastics?

Glass itself does not shed microplastics because it is inert and does not contain plastic. But glass alone is not proof, because the water source, cap, and the bottling process matter too. The meaningful evidence is third-party testing of the finished bottle. In every batch of Loonen, the microplastic polymers we screen for come back non-detect at the laboratory's reporting limit.

Are microplastics in water actually harmful?

A growing body of research links microplastic exposure to potential health harms. Microplastics have been found in human blood, lungs, and the placenta, and a 2024 study found them in artery plaque, where they were associated with more heart attacks and strokes (Marfella et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2024). Cardiology researchers now describe them as an emerging risk worth reducing (Aimo et al., 2026).

Is bottled water tested for microplastics by law?

No, bottled water is not tested for microplastics by law. The FDA regulates bottled water but sets no microplastics standard or testing requirement, and the EPA has only proposed microplastics as a candidate for future study on its draft Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6). Any testing is voluntary. Loonen tests every batch through accredited third-party labs and publishes the results by QR code and online.

References

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