Last updated on August 30th, 2022 at 02:37 pm
Spring Hill Dairy Farm Inc. in Haverhill, Massachusetts, is closing.
The decision was made as stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire pulled the company’s water products from shelves due to controversial chemicals in the water, namely per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
In a letter, Spring Hill CEO Harold Rogers said, “The deluge of unwarranted attention on our company, when PFAS is clearly a national problem with thousands of contributors, has made it impossible for us to keep operating. Sensational, fear-inducing headlines relative to an advisory that impacts an estimated 6-7 percent of the population of Massachusetts (pregnant and lactating women and bottle-fed infants) have created an untenable environment. There have been many challenges over the years to doing business in Massachusetts. This past month has convinced us that, for our company, the negatives have come to outweigh the positives.”
On July 2, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a bottled water consumption advisory warning stating certain bottled water products containing spring water from Spring Hill Farm Dairy Inc. contain PFAS chemicals at levels the DPH recommends not be consumed by people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or by bottle-fed infants.
The company installed a filtration system on July 22 to remove PFAS compounds. On July 24, the following was posted on the company’s website:
- “As soon as Spring Hill Water was made aware of the changes noted in the advisory, we arranged for a new charcoal filtration system that was installed on July 22. All Spring Hill Water bottled since that date meets the new standard. Spring Hill Water was under no obligation to make this $100,000 investment since the state of Massachusetts has not set standards for bottled water, but we want the best for our customers. Spring Hill was inspected by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week and was found to be in full compliance.”
On July 30, another response was posted:
- “All bottles on shelves are in full compliance with current state and federal regulations. The advisory applies only to pregnant and lactating women and infants. If state or federal regulators believed there was a danger to the general public then they would not have issued an advisory which applies only to a very small segment of the population. Spring Hill’s new $100,000 filtration system was quickly installed on July 22, and all PFAS should be eliminated from bottles after that date.”
Spring Hill Dairy Farm has been family owned and operated since 1902. Spring Hill Water was sold at Cumberland Farms, Whole Foods Market, Stop & Shop, CVS, IGA locations, Market Basket, Shaw’s Supermarkets Roche Bros. and more. For a full list of where Spring Hill Water was sold and brand names, click here.
