Tiny plastic bits contaminate bottled water sold around the world, a new study finds.
Researchers tested more than 250 bottles of water.
Mason and her team tested the water on behalf of Orb Media, a nonprofit journalism group based in the United States.
Tiny bits of plastic have turned up in rivers, lakes and oceans.
Other microplastic beads go in some toothpastes and skin-care products.
The most common type of plastic that Mason and her team found in bottled water was polypropylene (Pah-lee-PROH-puh-leen).
So how do they get into bottled water?
And earlier studies had found plastic bits could come out in tap water.
The new study is the first to find microplastics in bottled water, its authors say.
In fact, Mason notes, her team found at least twice as many particles in bottled water as earlier tests had found in tap water.

Scientists have found that leading bottled water brands are contaminated with plastic particles.
This is coming on the heels of a research, which revealed that plastic contaminants were identified in 93 per cent of samples, which included major bottled water brands such as Aqua, Nestle Pure Life, Aquafina, Dasani, Evian, San Pellegrino, Bisleri, Dasani, Epura and Evian.
The researchers from the State University of New York at Fredonia in the United States (US), found the sampled bottled waters contaminated with tiny plastic particles that were likely seeping into the products during packaging process.
According to the report, the contaminants are plastic debris, including polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The researchers tested more than 250 bottles from 11 brands purchased in 19 locations in nine countries.
The bottled waters analysed were from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Thailand and the U.S.
Widespread contamination with plastic was found in the study, led by microplastic researcher, Sherri Mason of the State University of New York, according to a summary released by Orb Media, a U.S-based non-profit media organisation.
The report showed that particle concentration ranged from “zero to more than 10,000 likely plastic particles in a single bottle.
“On average, plastic particles in the 100 micron (0.10 millimeter) size range — considered ‘microplastics’ — were found at an average rate of 10.4 plastic particles per litre.” However, experts cautioned that the extent of the risk to human health posed by such contamination remains unclear.
Previous research by Orb Media has found plastic particles in tap water, too, but on a smaller scale.

They tested popular brands like Evian, Dasani and Nestle Pure Life.
Scientists found an average of more than 10 plastic particles per one-liter of bottled water.
Researchers tested more than 250 bottles from 11 brands purchased in 19 locations in nine countries reveal contamination with plastic including polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Here are the brands included in the study: Aqua (Danone) Aquafina (PepsiCo) Bisleri (Bisleri International) Dasani (Coca-Cola) Epura (PepsiCo) Evian (Danone) Gerolsteiner (Gerolsteiner Brunnen) Minalba (Grupo Edson Queiroz) Nestlé Pure Life (Nestlé) San Pellegrino (Nestlé) Wahaha (Hangzhou Wahaha Group) According to Orb Media, two leading brands confirmed their products contained the microplastic, but say the study significantly overstates the amount.
Researchers say the size of the plastic ranged from the width of a human hair down to the size of a red blood cell.
Some bottles had thousands.
A few effectively had no plastic at all.
One brand had a concentration of more than 10,000 particles per liter.
Take a look at the number of plastic particles in each brand’s bottles by clicking on the image below.
Right now, scientists don’t know the impact the plastic has on the human body.

Dive Brief: According to a report from Orb Media, a nonprofit digital journalism organization based in Washington, D.C., 93% of 259 bottles of branded water it tested contained microscopic pieces of plastic.
The average across all brands was 325 microplastic particles per liter.
The study found a wide range of microscopic plastic particle levels across brands — and even varying levels within brands — which makes it hard to gauge the severity of these findings.
The report noted that most ingested microparticles, depending on size, could pass through the intestines and not cause problems, but that some could possibly migrate to the lymphatic system.
It added that little research has been done in this area and that some scientists view that factor as cause for concern.
These findings may not be a surprise to the waste industry, however.
Marine waste — and plastics especially — have been a hot topic for years, and the industry is well-aware of how much plastic winds up in waterways on a regular basis.
Plastics in water do break down overtime, creating the microplastic particles that Nestle and Coca-Cola said are common in the environment.
Canada’s environment minister, for example, recently declared she wants to build on a "zero-plastics-waste" charter, and British Prime Minister Theresa May wants her country to cut out all "avoidable" plastic waste in the next 25 years.
And it’s not just governments.

Major brands of bottled water have been found to contain tiny particles of plastic, according to a new study.
Orb Media, a non-profit journalism organisation based in Washington, D.C., conducted tests on 259 bottles from 11 leading brands, including Evian, San Pellegrino, Dasani, Nestle Pure Life and Aquafina, purchased from 19 location in nine countries.
The tests were conducted at the State University of New York in Fredonia, where researchers used a red dye called Nile Red, which absorbs to the surface of plastics, making them easier to see under infrared light.
The testing revealed 93 per cent of the bottle show microplastic contamination from a combination of polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Of the 259 bottles tested, 17 had no particles.
Brands included in the study made aware that the results showed a far greater amount of microplastics in their bottles when compared to their own tests.
This is also what happens every time you microwave your food in a plastic container.
There’s also dangers to drinking prosecco out of a plastic cup.
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The Startup That Wants to Sell You a Subscription to New York City Tap Water Explains Itself.
That is the concept behind Reefill, a start-up that aims to bring the subscription model to the simple, free act of filling up a water bottle at a cafe.
On Monday, I met Connorton and co-founder Jason Pessel, who had the idea for Reefill during a thirsty moment in Manhattan, at a crowded downtown café.
Two dollars a month is a sizable mark-up from the penny-per-gallon water costs from the tap.
That’s why, despite its founders’ proclivity for tap water, Reefill stations run the water they pipe from the city’s system through several more filters.
It’s tap water in a suit.
Then again, it’s hard not to look at both a "smart" fountain network and the bottled water industry and ask why the promise of the public drinking fountain—the kind you could access without a phone, without walking into a café—has failed even as Americans drink more water than ever before.
Incredibly, installing a new water fountain can cost New York City into the six figures; installing a Reefill, which piggybacks on the sunk costs of a store, costs a few thousand dollars.
And yet: New York City has nearly 2,000 public water fountains.
As a New Yorker, that’s a network I’m already subscribed to, and I’d like to see better results.

Pepsi to sell bottled water at same MRP across India: Paswan.
Food Ministry’s push for the same maximum retail price (MRP) for packed food and beverages has led to Pepsi promising to sell its mineral water at one rate across the country.
Paswan said action can be taken under the law for having dual MRP on any product and consumer courts are already taking action.
“Dual MRP is against the law.
Pepsi has said that it will sell ‘Acquafina’ mineral water at one price or MRP across the country.
BCCI has also directed that all bottled water will be sold at MRP in its cricket stadiums,” he told reporters here.
The BCCI secretary has also issued a circular that bottled water will not be sold at price higher than the MRP, he said, adding that the ministry has started getting success after its effort against “dual MRP”.
Last month, the Consumer Affairs Department had sought explanation from companies selling packaged mineral water for having different MRPs of bottles for various places.
It had directed that the sale price should be same at airports, hotels and malls.
“Mineral water bottle will be available at the same rate at airports, hotels and malls,” Paswan had tweeted.

The company claimed that Seven Up supplied contaminated Aquafina Table Water to its officials.
The plaintiff is now seeking an order compelling the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to release on oath, the report of Laboratory analysis on Aquafina Table Water, via its Notice of Complaint.
The applicant in an affidavit sworn to by its Managing Director, Ibrahim Yaro, alleged that sometime between November and December 2015, his company purchased Aquafina Table Water from Gjonny Enterprises, an accredited distributor of Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc.
The company said that it was shocked when informed by the owners of the Vessel M.T.
Marina that the Aquafina Table Water was contaminated.
The applicants thereafter, lodged a complaint to the Director of NAFDAC in Apapa, and officials of NAFDAC investigation and Enforcement directorate, recovered from the applicants company 22 packs of 150cl Aquafina Table Water.
He said that after laboratory analysis by NAFDAC, the representatives of the manufacturer were informed that the result certificate of the analysis would be ready within one month of the sample taken.
Marina which had over six vessels working in Nigeria.
He said that they were accused of negligence and collusion in the entire saga.
Yaro averred further that following the situation, his good business name, image and reputation that have been built over 8 years were greatly damaged.

EDITORIAL: University won’t stop selling single-use plastic bottles until we stop buying them.
Take Back the Tap has also worked with campus-dining supplier Aramark to temporarily stop the sale of single-use bottled water in The Market on south campus.
So join us in supporting Take Back the Tap — stop buying bottled water on campus.
Take Back the Tap President Allison LaPlatt said the university is looking to see a unified student voice offering its opinion on ending water bottle sales.
Sales of Aquafina, the brand of bottled water available on campus, account for 10 percent of CMU’s campus stores’ total sales.
This small change is practical for college students and may save you a little change in the process.
Buying a refillable water bottle saves money.
Refilling a reusable container with one of Moore Hall’s refill stations costs you nothing and helps reduce plastic waste.
We can stand idle or join together to help make a change in our community that will benefit everyone.
We can continue to purchase single-use water bottles from Pepsi, or we can each make the small change to use refillable bottles.