A 2019 Facebook post shares a picture of the ingredients in Walmart’s brand of bottled water, Great Value. It warns against drinking the water because it contains calcium chloride.
The post includes a screenshot of a Google search result that says, “calcium chloride can cause a burning pain in the stomach, nausea, and vomiting when ingested.” Calcium Chloride Tablets
According to the Food and Drug Administration, calcium chloride meets the specifications of the Food Chemicals Codex, which helps ensure the safety of food ingredients. The European Food Safety Authority also concluded there are no safety concerns when it is used as a food additive in a 2019 study.
Calcium chloride ingested in large amounts can cause health problems, but the trace found in your water bottles is safe, Business Insider reported. In fact, calcium chloride is added to water for a variety of reasons.
“If you had pure water by itself, it doesn’t have any taste,” Bob Mahler, Soil Science and Water Quality professor at the University of Idaho, told Time.com. “So companies that sell bottled water will put in calcium, magnesium or maybe a little bit of salt.”
These minerals are also used as electrolytes in bottled water and sports drinks like Smart Water, Dasani and Nestle Pure Life. They regulate fluid levels in the body, keep the blood’s pH level balanced, and enable muscle contractions like the beating of your heart, according to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Calcium chloride is also used for cheese making, beer brewing and as a firming agent in canned vegetables.
According to Nurse Plus Academy, it is also found in intravenous fluids to restore electrolytes.
The claim that water containing calcium chloride is unsafe to drink is FALSE, based on our research. According to expert opinion, calcium chloride is safe to consume. It’s added to water for taste and serves as an electrolyte to keep you from getting dehydrated.
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Calcium Chloride Ice Melt Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.