According to WJW, more than 38,000 gallons of distilled water have been recalled due to the presence of an unknown black substance.
What happened?
On January 17, WJW reported that Meijer had launched a voluntary recall affecting six states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The product involved is Meijer steam-distilled water, sold in one-gallon cans. The affected items share a lot code (39-222 #3), UPC (041250841197), and expiration date (October 4, 2026).
The FDA said “black foreign material floating in the product” triggered the multi-state recall, but the agency neither identified the material nor provided any further information.
According to WebMD, distilled water is “ideal when purity is important” because it is processed to remove even trace amounts of bacteria, minerals, contaminants and impurities.
Common uses for distilled water include infant formula, continuous positive airway pressure machine reservoirs, and laboratory testing.
In medical settings, distilled water is used to clean critical equipment such as dialysis machines.
Why is this concerning?
Distilled water is mainly used when filtered water is not pure enough.
Therefore, contaminated distilled water may pose a greater risk to consumers who may use distilled water in neti pots, mix infant formula, or provide medical care in home settings.
The official FDA recall notice indicates that Meijer recalled the product on November 13, but the earliest media mention was reported by Allrecipes on January 9.
The website observes that the FDA has not yet risk-categorized this recall; the FDA ultimately designated it a Class 2 recall on January 20.
According to the FDA, a Class 2 recall is when exposure to or use of what the agency calls a “violated product” is likely to “result in temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or has a remote likelihood of serious adverse health consequences.”
Meijer’s distilled water recall is not the first time there has been a significant lag between retailers’ voluntary action and the FDA’s involvement; in October, the FDA took weeks to announce a market-specific recall of Coca-Cola.
In April, Reuters reported that across-the-board layoffs of civil servants across federal agencies had led to a reduction in the FDA’s “food safety quality inspections.” Additionally, cuts by the Department of Agriculture further jeopardize food quality.
Officials looked on and warned that the layoffs could leave Americans vulnerable to risk as the FDA announced it would no longer allocate funds to monitor milk quality.
By November, ProPublica warned that FDA inspections of foreign foods “had dropped to an all-time low.”
What measures are being taken?
In a Jan. 13 Guardian report, several former officials expressed concern about the FDA’s delay in issuing warnings, citing a 2025 listeria outbreak that killed six people.
“I’m worried…it’s like the children’s game of Jenga, where you stack all these blocks. If you pull one out from the bottom or even from the middle, the whole thing will collapse,” said Sandra Eskin, a former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Several officials spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
“I believe this massive reduction in the federal workforce will set us back decades as a country. We are no longer a world leader in public health, and that’s a terrible thing,” a former FDA employee told the Guardian.
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