Bottled water

Bottled water is drinking water, usually spring water or mineral water, or simply water that has been treated, and sold in a sealed bottle.

It is preferred in areas where the water is either too polluted or infested, but nowadays, it is starting to be popular over tap water because it usually contains far less fluoride and chlorine, which are often included in the process of making tap water drinkable.

There is also a certain snob value to more expensive brands of bottled water.

The most common types of bottled water are:

• mineral water - spring water that has a higher mineral content
• purified water - surface or underground water that has been treated for human consumption
• spa water - water taken from a spa
• carbonated water (sparkling) - treated with carbon dioxide
• spring water - water that was taken from a spring
• well water - water taken from a well

Bottled water regulations in the US

The United States' bottled water industry may seem to be highly regulated and scrutinised for provision of correct information on the labels of the bottles. The basic fact is that the nutritional information on the water bottle has to be precise and that is where the legal precision ends. To put this into an example Evian, famous water brand, actually fills its water for the US market from a US water source and in legal terms is a product of France as it is owned and operated by a French company. Also bottled at source statement on the bottle means nothing further than what it states, however the source of water is left to our immediate presumption that it is bottled in France.

While it is often claimed that bottled water is required by the FDA to be taken from a "protected source", meaning a source that is known to be free of pollution and bacteria, and regularly checked for same, there is in fact no such regulation. Bottled water suppliers are required to use an "approved source", which the FDA defines as:

[approved source] means a source of water...that has been inspected and the water sampled, analyzed, and found to be of a safe and sanitary quality according to applicable laws and regulations of state and local government agencies having jurisdiction.

However, it does not define guidelines for which regulations may be considered applicable, nor set requirements for water sources in the absence of applicable laws. Additionally, bottled water suppliers are not required to document the approval of their sources, so the "approved water" requirement is often termed a "regulatory mirage".

Whereas municipal water sources are required to use a certified laboratory to ensure their water meets standards for bacteria and pollution, to inform consumers of contaminants in water, and to report all violations, bottled water suppliers have no such requirements. In fact, water bottlers are permitted to sell contaminated water if their labelling notes the water contains "excessive bacteria" or "excessive chemical substances". Water bottlers are additionally not required to test for the presence of E. coli, cryptosporidium, giardia, asbestos, or organic compounds such as benzenes.

Another misconception that is well covered by the bottled water industry is the statement of what kind of water is in fact in the bottle, whether mineral, purified, artesian etc. As stated earlier individual states regulate with individual laws what mineral content needs to be in the water for it to be "mineral water" in the US the minimal mineral content is 250 parts per million of minerals in a litre of water, this is very low! So mineral water in the US would only qualify as spring water in the other countries.

The Penn & Teller Tasting Test

In 2003, Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, a Showtime Channel program, conducted an informal taste test of bottled water. They found about 75 percent of New Yorkers preferred tap water to bottled waters. They also hired a "water sommelier" to sell US$7 bottled water to the patrons in a fancy Californian restaurant. The water sommelier filled each bottle with a garden hose directly from the tap, however, people just seemed to know the difference between a bottle of L'eau du Robinet (French for "faucet water") and Agua de Culo (Spanish for "ass water") before they were informed. In the end, Penn and Teller, two famous magicians, offered to sell their brand of water for US$150 for a bottle.