Berkey water filter review: the EPA order, the NSF listing and what to buy instead

EPA Region 8 signed Stop Sale, Use, or Removal Order FIFRA-08-2023-0038 on May 4, 2023, and its hearing clerk received it on May 8. It's addressed to Berkey International LLC and issued under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the law on pesticides.

The order lists the five systems: “Travel Berkey Water Filters, Big Berkey Water Filters, Royal Berkey Water Filters, Imperial Berkey Water Filters and Crown Berkey Water Filters (Black Berkey Filter Products) are sold with Black Berkey Filters inserted in the apparatus.”

EPA's case rests on silver and on what sellers said about it. The order quotes a Berkey FAQ: “silver is used as an antimicrobial to self-sterilize the Black Berkey® elements.” It also cites labels and web pages claiming results against viruses and bacteria. Under FIFRA, a product sold with claims like these counts as a pesticide, and the order states: “None of the Black Berkey Filter Products are registered with the EPA.”

The order has no end date. It “shall remain in effect unless and until revoked, terminated, suspended, or modified in writing by EPA.” I found no change to it as of October 6, 2026.

Berkey International wasn't the first. EPA issued a similar order to James Enterprise, a Colorado distributor trading as Berkey Filters, on December 27, 2022. It covered Black Berkey and Sport Berkey filters and the Sport Berkey bottle. The First Circuit counts “six additional” orders between February and May 2023 “against manufacturers and distributors of Berkey filters, including Berkey itself.”

Two lawsuits challenged the orders. Neither has lifted them as of October 2026.

Texas. New Millennium Concepts, the Texas company behind the Berkey brand, sued EPA in August 2023 with James Shepherd as co-plaintiff. On November 17, 2023, the federal court in Fort Worth dismissed the case for lack of standing: “neither Shepherd nor NMCL ever received an SSURO from the EPA.” The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal on August 9, 2024. The plaintiffs' position was that no Berkey-authorized entity ever claimed the silver was for anything other than “to protect the filter itself.”

Puerto Rico. Berkey International sued in federal court in Puerto Rico on March 6, 2024. The court denied a preliminary injunction on July 24, 2024, and Berkey appealed. On September 18, 2026, the First Circuit affirmed. Its opinion says: “Berkey admits that silver is a pesticide, and that its filters contain silver. Berkey also admits that it has not registered its filters with the EPA.”

The court found that Berkey had failed to substantiate its claim that the silver isn't intended for a pesticidal purpose. The underlying case in Puerto Rico was still open on October 6, 2026.

berkeywater.com is run by New Millennium Concepts, which sells Berkey through authorized dealers. On October 14, 2026, every system page I opened there showed “out of stock or has limited availability” or “Limited supply” instead of a price, except the Go Berkey Kit.

The order lists systems by name, and the Berkey Light and Go Berkey aren't among them, but both ship with Black Berkey elements, the product the order is about.

Only the Phoenix elements, and only for chlorine, taste and odor. I searched NSF, IAPMO and WQA for Berkey on October 14, 2026. NSF lists New Millennium Concepts under NSF/ANSI 42, the standard for aesthetic effects, for three systems: the Big, Royal and Travel Berkey “Featuring Phoenix Gravity New Millennium Edition Filter Elements,” element PGF9-2. The claims are chlorine reduction and taste and odor reduction. IAPMO and WQA returned no Berkey products.

The NSF table prints 1,050 in its flow-rate column and leaves the service-cycle column blank, so the listing gives no rated life I can quote. Berkey rates each Phoenix element for 2,750 gallons. Its Phoenix page also says the elements are certified to NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramines and particulates. The NSF listing I read covers chlorine and taste and odor only.

The same page says the Phoenix elements adsorb VOCs and “forever chemicals” (PFAS, PFOA, and PFOS). Those claims have no listing. Lead and PFAS reduction are certified under NSF/ANSI 53, and no Berkey element is listed under it. The contaminants or other substances removed or reduced by this water treatment device are not necessarily in your water.

The Black Berkey page reads: “tested by accredited third-party labs that have reported that the elements meet ANSI/NSF (Std. 53) protocol.” That's a lab report Berkey describes, not a certification. A certifier listing names the model and the contaminant, and I found none for Black Berkey. Claims against bacteria and viruses fall under EPA's pesticide rules, and I don't repeat those figures.

Phoenix elements are Berkey's replacement for Black Berkey in the Big and Royal. Berkey says they're made in India, and the NSF listing names a facility in Chennai.

• Listing. Phoenix has NSF/ANSI 42 for chlorine, taste and odor. Black Berkey has no listing.
• Rated life. Berkey rates a Phoenix element for 2,750 gallons and a Black Berkey element for 3,000.
• Speed. Berkey gives the Phoenix pair up to 4.2 gallons an hour.
• Minerals. Berkey says Phoenix elements don't change total dissolved solids (TDS), so a TDS meter won't show them working.

Neither element had a price on berkeywater.com on October 14, 2026. Berkey sells the Phoenix pair as PGF9-2 through its dealers.

Berkey's fluoride filter is the PF-2, $103 on berkeywater.com on October 14, 2026. It is an add-on to the gravity elements. Berkey says it reduces three fluoride compounds and two forms of arsenic, and the filters “need replacement after 1000 gallons of use.”

No certifier lists the PF-2. Berkey says it's “designed to be used in conjunction with the Black Berkey® Elements,” the elements under the EPA order. The Phoenix page says the PF-2 is “fully compatible” with Phoenix elements too. Fluoride reduction is certified under NSF/ANSI 58, the reverse osmosis standard. If fluoride is your reason to buy, compare reverse osmosis systems listed for fluoride.

Berkey's sales policy says its products, “including Phoenix Gravity New Millennium Edition™ Filter Elements,” are “not available to be sold to California or Iowa residents.” The policy gives no reason. Most product pages repeat it, and the Travel Berkey page says it's “Not yet available to residents of Iowa.”

If you live in either state, start from the alternatives below and check that the seller ships to you.

New Millennium Concepts' warranty covers the chambers and lids for 1 year. Black Berkey elements get “a two year limited prorated warranty, calculated in six month intervals.” PF-2 filters and accessories get 6 months. The page doesn't mention Phoenix elements.

The warranty is for the original buyer and covers products bought from New Millennium Concepts or an authorized dealer. It excludes damage from freezing and from water-softener, salt or dehumidifier water. I found no return policy on berkeywater.com, only a support portal, so ask your dealer before you buy.