Ashley Renfro, 25, was cited Saturday after setting up a farmers market booth selling plain tap water labeled “Gluten-Free Certified Spring Water” for nine dollars a bottle.
Printed custom labels reading “0g Gluten, 100% Pure”
Filled every bottle directly from a garden hose behind her booth
Told a health inspector the water was “basically the same thing” as bottled brands
Sold out of her first 40 bottles in under an hour
Argued the price was fair because “wellness isn’t cheap”
A county health inspector shut the booth down after a customer flagged the labeling. Inspector Carla Whitfield, an 11-year veteran, said, “I’ve cited people for expired meat. I’ve never cited someone for selling a sink.”
She now faces a citation for false advertising and operating without a permit.
Water’s free from the tap.
Her label just wasn’t free from a lawsuit.