NSF International now tests and certifies the filters used in portable water filter bottles against NSF American national standards for drinking water treatment products.

NSF International developed the American national standards for water filtration products more than 40 years ago. One of these standards, NSF/ANSI Standard 42: Drinking Water Treatment Units - Aesthetic Effects, is used to verify a drinking water filter effectively removes contaminants that cause undesirable odor and taste, such as chlorine. NSF scientists used the standard to develop an innovative testing method for water bottles with built-in filters.

NSF International tested and certified four leading companies’ filters to NSF/ANSI 42. They include Brita, CamelBak, Cool Gear, and Move Collective (Bobble filtered water bottle).  

“These water bottles filters were subjected to rigorous testing and evaluation before earning certification to NSF/ANSI 42 and consumers can be assured that they can trust the claims they see on the packaging of an NSF-certified water bottle filter,” said Rick Andrew, general manager of NSF’s Drinking Water Treatment Units Program. “NSF develops new test methods based on our American national standards to support innovative technologies in the residential water treatment industry.”

Additional certifications available

“Additionally, NSF can certify products to NSF/ANSI Standard 53: Drinking Water Treatment Units - Health Effects,” Andrew continued. “Certification to this standard would verify that a filter can effectively reduce specific health-related contaminants such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, lead, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether), that may be present in public or private drinking water.”

To obtain certification under NSF International’s Drinking Water Treatment Programs, a company must undergo extensive product testing and unannounced audits of their production facilities to certify that water treatment products meet the design, material and performance requirements of NSF American national standards. Products that meet all certification requirements may bear the NSF Mark and are included on NSF International’s product listings page.