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| Brent Jones issued a video apology as the Food and Drink Administration announced it had launched a probe and lawsuits start to pile up. |
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FDA warns people not to drink alkaline 'Real Water' linked to five cases of hepatitis
Daily Mail
Wed March 24, 2021
Area: Las Vegas
The Food and Drink Administration (FDA) has warned people not to drink alkaline water brand 'Real Water' after a man suffered liver failure and had to undergo a transplant apparently from drinking the product.
The FDA said it had been alerted to five cases of acute non-viral hepatitis that led to liver failure in infants and children in Nevada in November 2020 where the 'only common link' was found to be the brand's 'alkaline water products'.
The agency has launched an investigation and warned people not to drink, cook with, sell, or serve Real Water, which costs around $1.89 for a single 1-liter bottle.
Since then, four suits have been filed in Clark County District Court against the firm from at least 12 consumers who said they fell ill after drinking the water including one damning claim that a man had to be airlifted to hospital for a liver transplant.
Brent Jones, the company's founder and president, released a video Tuesday to 'personally apologize' to the brand's customers amid the 'deeply concerning' links to liver disease.
Jones, a Scientologist and former Nevada legislator, announced he was pulling the brand from the shelves of retailers and issuing a voluntary recall to customers.
Real Water markets itself as 'the healthiest drinking water available' claiming its higher pH means it can 'detoxify' and 'hydrate like never before'.
The company, which rakes in close to $1 billion in sales a year, is said to be a firm favorite among 'celebrities, athletes, doctors, chiropractors, health practitioners and everyday people.'
Mounting concerns over its potential health risks come after the alkaline water craze has taken off in recent years, with health fanatics buying into its purported benefits including anti-ageing properties, weight loss benefits and claims it can prevent cancer.
The alkaline water market is big business with Global Insights predicting the industry will be worth $4.32 billion by the end of 2023.
However, scientists remain skeptical about its alleged health benefits with research studies so far being limited.
'First, we'd like to express our deepest sympathy and concern over the events that led to the inquiry,' Jones said in a video released Tuesday.
'We started Real Water with the intention to provide a healthy product that benefits and elevates people's lifestyles. We are deeply saddened to learn that anything otherwise could be the result.'
The CEO described the recall as 'deeply concerning' and said the company is fully cooperating with the FDA probe.
'This recall is deeply concerning because you should never have any worry about the safety of any of our products,' he said.
'As the majority owner and offender of Real Water I want you to know that I stand behind every product we sell and safety will always be our top priority.
'I want to personally apologize to our customers and I assure you that the lessons learned will drive further improvements in the brand.'
Jones said all the incidents of illness are connected to its Las Vegas home and office delivery service but that the company had issued a 'voluntary nationwide recall until the safety of our product is clearly established.'
Real Water, which is based in Las Vegas, also posted a notice on its website saying the company was notified last week about the potential ties to illnesses.
Jones' apology comes as lawsuits are starting to pile up against the brand in the wake of the launch of the FDA probe.
Five people filed a joint suit in Las Vegas Monday against Real Water maker Affinity Lifestyles.com, as well as major retailers Whole Foods Market, Costco Wholesale and Terrible Herbst where the product is sold.
Under Nevada law, retailers can also be held liable for selling defective products. DailyMail.com has reached out to the three retailers and Real Water for comment.
The suit claims the five people all fell ill after drinking Real Water.
Perhaps the most damning claim is that one man suffered liver failure and had to undergo a liver transplant after drinking the alkaline water.
The suit says Myles Hunwardsen was diagnosed with acute liver failure in September 2019 and was airlifted to UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital for a transplant.
Hunwardsen bought Real Water from Whole Foods and Terrible Herbst in the months leading up to his hospitalization, the suit says.
One of the other claimants Miriam Brody says she was treated for liver failure at Henderson Hospital back in November 2018. She says she bought the water from Costco.
The three other claimants, Jazmin Schaffer, Tina Hartshorn and Christina Sosa, were also treated for liver illnesses after drinking the water, resulting in medical bills of at least $300,000, the suit states.
Hartshorn was hospitalized for nine days after drinking the product which she had delivered to her Las Vegas home, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The suit says 'had the Plaintiffs known the truth - i.e., that Defendants' bottled water contained elevated levels of toxins that would cause severe liver damage, rendering them unsafe for consumption - Plaintiffs would not have purchased them.'
This suit marks the fourth filed against the brand within the last week.
Three California women filed a federal class-action complaint in Las Vegas, a man filed a case in Clark County after being treated at an urgent care center earlier this month and two parents filed a suit claiming they and their infant son, 2, fell ill after drinking the water.
Emely and Christopher Wren said they and their 2-year-old son Christopher Noah Wren fell ill in August while their daughter who did not drink the water was not ill.
Dad Christopher was hospitalized and was placed on a wait list for a liver transplant list, the complaint says.
His condition improved so he did not require the transplant.
Then, in November, the boy had to be flown by emergency jet to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City for emergency treatment for liver malfunction.
He was hospitalized for several days.
Emely was not hospitalized but experienced nausea and fatigue.
Christopher was 'interviewed by an investigator from the Southern Nevada Health District and/or the Center for Disease Controls and informed that drinking Real Water is believed to be the cause of his extreme liver damage and the cause of an extraordinary number of liver damage cases involving Nevada residents,' the suit reads.
It is not yet clear if more people will join the class-action suit, filed by Wise & Donahue law firm.
The three women who filed it claim they suffered from nausea while one claims she had blood in her urine.
'Contrary to the aforementioned representations and promises made in respect to the Product by Defendant, the Product was defective and caused undesired side effects to consumers, including, but not limited to, fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay or gray-colored bowel movements, joint pain, yellow eyes, jaundice, liver failure, hospitalization, and loss of appetite,' the suit alleges.
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial in that suit.
The FDA announced last week it was investigating a number of reports of acute non-viral hepatitis in the state of Nevada tied to the consumption of Real Water.
Acute non-viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure and even death.
The FDA said it had been made aware of five cases that had resulted in acute liver failure in infants and children in November 2020 with all five patients hospitalized as a result.
The agency said the alkaline water brand was the 'only common link' and that the evidence so far suggested it 'may be the cause of the illnesses'.
On Friday, the agency urged people not to drink, cook with, sell or serve the product.
Real Water said it was asking retailers across the whole of the US to remove the product from shelves or return it to the distributors and asking customers to return the product while the FDA investigation is ongoing.
A statement on its website reads: 'Real Water was notified on March 16, 2021, of a potential problem with our water dating back to November 2020.
'We are saddened to hear of the potential health issue of the product from our Real Water Las Vegas Home Delivery operation.
'We, at Real Water, take the safety of our products and concern for our customer's health seriously.
'Real Water takes great strides in every way to make sure our product is safe for consumption. Our goal is to diligently work with the FDA to achieve a swift resolution.'
Its products are in the mid-market range, retailing for around $1.89 for a single 1-liter bottle on Instacart, compared to $2.49 for a 1-liter bottle of Fiji and $1.09 for a 1-liter bottle of Poland Spring.
Many major retailers and smaller convenience stores stock the bottle including Whole Foods, Costco and Key Foods, while it can also be bought directly from the Real Water website for home and office delivery.
The product no longer appears to be in stock online at Whole Foods or Costco but it is still available on Instacart.
A Costco spokesperson said the company had received a call from the manufacturer to pull the product but that Costco had not yet announced a nationwide recall from all its sites.
Some stores may still have the water on their shelves at this time, they said.
Whole Foods did not immediately return DailyMail.com's request for information but staff at a couple of individual stores said the product was no longer on the shelves.
A quick search finds orders can also still be placed on Real Water's website but it is not clear if the order will be delayed or refunded.
Real Water is marketed as 'a premium, drinking water with 9.0 pH that utilizes the proprietary E2 Technology, making it the only drinking water on the market that can maintain a stable negative ionization'.
It claims to act as a detox and balance pH levels making it 'the healthiest drinking water available.'
Affinitylifestyles.com Inc. generates around $980,000 in sales, according to dun & bradstreet.
This isn't the first time the company has come under fire.
Several discrimination lawsuits have previously been brought against the firm and Jones by ex-staffers.
One suit, which was later dismissed, was brought by a woman who accused Jones of making her and other employees watch Scientology-based videos.
A former exec at Real Water also previously claimed they were required to attend Scientology-based facilities while working at the company.
Scientologist Jones is even rumored to have named Affinity Lifestyles in a nod to the group's 'ARC Triangle' meaning 'Affinity - Reality - Communication.'
California native Jones founded Affinity Lifestyles, the maker of Real Water, 13 years ago in Nevada.
Prior to this, he started his career training as a lawyer before he served one term as a Nevada state legislator from 2014 until 2016.
He was then defeated in his reelection bid by Democrat Justin Watkins.
In 2018, Jones then had a failed run for lieutenant governor.
His wife Aimee Jones also ran that year to win the Assembly seat her husband lost in 2016.
Alkaline water has risen in popularity in recent years due to its claimed health benefits.
While regular drinking water generally has a neutral pH of 7 alkaline water has a higher pH of 8 or 9 because it contains alkaline minerals, meaning it is less acidic.
There are many claims about the benefits of drinking alkaline water including that it helps slow ageing, cleans the colon, helps weight loss, boost the immune system and can prevent chronic illnesses like cancer because it helps to neutralize the acid in the body.
But many health professionals say there isn't enough scientific research to support claims.
That said, alkaline water is not typically known to cause liver problems or to be dangerous to drink.
According to Healthline, 'water that doesn't fall in the 'safe' pH range of 6.5 to 8.5, particularly if it's alkaline, isn't necessarily unsafe' but very alkaline water can have an 'unpleasant smell or taste' and can damage water pipes.
Advice from the Mayo Clinic is that drinking regular water is best.
California native Brent Jones founded Affinity Lifestyles, the maker of Real Water, in Nevada back in 1998.
Prior to this, he started his career training as a lawyer before he served one term as a Nevada Republican state legislator from 2014 until 2016.
He was then defeated in his reelection bid by Democrat Justin Watkins.
In 2018, Jones then had a failed run for lieutenant governor.
His wife Aimee Jones also ran that year to win the Assembly seat her husband lost in 2016.
Jones is a Scientologist and the Affinity Lifestyles name is thought to be a nod to the group's 'ARC Triangle' meaning 'Affinity - Reality - Communication.'
Prior to the current suits over its potential health risks, several discrimination lawsuits have previously been brought against the firm and Jones by ex-staffers.
One suit, which was later dismissed, was brought by a woman who accused Jones of making her and other employees watch Scientology-based videos.
A former exec at Real Water also previously claimed they were required to attend Scientology-based facilities while working at the company.
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