Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are chemicals that can interfere with the body’s hormone signaling, and they are increasingly being found—even at very low levels—in everyday bottled water sources.
A 2025 Belgian study examined bottled water and asked a simple but important question: How much do packaging, source, and price shape what is actually in the bottle?
To answer that question, researchers developed a lab technique that concentrates bottled water, then runs it through a highly sensitive “chemical fingerprinting” system to detect tiny traces of many contaminants at once.
It can measure twenty-five known endocrine disruptors and screen for nearly one thousand more at nanogram-per-liter levels—roughly a few drops in an Olympic-size pool.
They applied this approach to thirty-seven popular bottled waters sold in Flanders, Belgium, including both spring and mineral waters packaged in glass and plastic.
Seventeen of the twenty-five targeted EDCs showed up across the brands tested, spanning hormones, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, phenols, phthalates, a microbial agent, a sunscreen ingredient, and mycotoxin-related compounds, though generally at low concentrations.
Notably, plastic bottles contained more distinct EDCs and higher overall levels than glass bottles, suggesting that packaging can meaningfully influence what ends up in the water.
Source mattered as well. Mineral waters showed higher levels of the mycotoxin metabolite α-zearalanol than spring waters, likely reflecting differences in geology and upstream agricultural inputs.
Counter to expectations, higher-priced plastic bottled waters tended to carry higher concentrations of certain phthalates, leading the authors to note that “higher retail price correlates with increased phthalate levels, challenging assumptions of exposure equity.”
The takeaway for readers is not panic, but perspective. Levels measured in this study were generally below current European guidance values for individual compounds, yet the findings underscore that real-world exposure happens as a mixture over time.
Choosing glass when possible, rotating brands, and using properly filtered tap water as part of the mix are simple ways to diversify and potentially reduce EDC exposure while regulators continue to refine standards using tools like this new testing method.
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Adapted from: Goessens T, Chen A, Truong N N, et al. “Development, validation, and application of an innovative UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS method for multi-class analysis of endocrine disruptors in bottled water: Influence of bottle material, water source, and retail price.” Anal Chim Acta. 2026;1385:344995.
