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Is
Bottled Water The Right Choice?
"Companies that market bottled water as being safer
than tap water are defrauding the American public."
- The U.S. FDA
Bottled water has
become a multi-billion dollar business... now the
fastest growing segment of the entire beverage
industry... and the most profitable of all
beverages.
Millions and millions
of dollars are spent each week on advertising
campaigns to give consumers the perception that
bottled water comes from some pristine mountain
spring or magical underground aquifer. The truth is
that bottled water is often little more than tap
water in a bottle.
The Federal
regulations that govern bottled water only apply if
it is transported across state lines, and then only
require it to be "as good as" tap water. Most
bottled water is bottled and sold within the same
state to avoid regulations. There are no assurances
or requirements that bottled water is of any higher
quality than tap water.
In March of 1999‚ the
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a
report called "Bottled Water‚ Pure Drink or Pure
Hype?" NRDC‘s report points out that as much as
40% of all bottled water comes from a city water
system‚ just like tap water. The report also
focuses on the fact that 60 to 70% of all bottled
water is exempt from FDA‘s bottled water standards‚
because it is bottled and sold within the same
state. Unless the water is transported across
state lines‚ there are no federal regulations that
govern its quality. According to the NRDC‚
"bottled water companies have used this loophole to
avoid complying with basic health standards‚ such
as those that apply to municipally treated tap
water." Also‚ all carbonated or sparkling waters
are completely exempt from FDA guidelines that set
specific contamination limits.
According to the NRDC
study‚ "even when bottled waters are covered by
FDA‘s specific bottled water standards‚ those rules
are weaker in many ways than EPA rules that apply
to big city tap water." For instance‚ if we compare
EPA regulations for tap water to FDA‘s bottled
water rules: (these examples are quotes from the
NRDC report)
- City tap water can
have no confirmed E.coli or fecal coliform
bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such
prohibition (a certain amount of any type of
coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).
- City tap water‚
from surface water‚ must be filtered and
disinfected. In contrast‚ there are no federal
filtration or disinfection requirements for
bottled water.
- Most cities using
surface water have had to test for Cryptosporidium
or Giardia‚ two common water pathogens‚ that can
cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems‚ yet
bottled water companies do not have to do this.
- City tap water
must meet standards for certain important toxic or
cancer-causing chemicals‚ such as phthalate (a
chemical that can leach from plastic‚ including
plastic bottles); some in the industry persuaded
FDA to exempt bottled water from the regulations
regarding these chemicals.
- City water systems
must issue annual "right to know" reports‚ telling
consumers what is in their water. Bottlers
successfully killed a "right to know" requirement
for bottled water.
The Natural Resources
Defense Council report concluded that; "Therefore‚
while much tap water is indeed risky‚ having
compared available data‚ we conclude that there is
no assurance that bottled water is any safer than
tap water."
The reality of
bottled water is that people pay from $1 to $4 a
gallon for the perception of higher quality‚ when
in fact‚ the quality of bottled water is at best
"unknown"!
A humorous, but
insightful quote, from a national radio personality
went;
"Throughout the
years man has come up with many ways to measure
things.
Noah used cubits to measure the Arc.
We use carats to measure gemstones.
We use lbs. to measure our weight.
We use inches, feet and yards to measure distance.
And to measure the intelligence of consumers...
they put water in plastic bottles... to see who
would buy it."
Point-of-Use water
treatment‚ with a quality in home water filtration
system‚ is by far the most economical‚ the most
convenient and the most effective way of producing
healthy, great tasting water. Filtering out the
chlorine‚ lead and other contaminants with a
quality home water filtration system‚ at the point
of use‚ just prior to consumption‚ is the only way
to know for sure about the quality of your water.
Aquasana
water filters provides water that is higher in
quality than any bottled water‚ for only 9
cents/gal... GUARANTEED!
What
about Tap Water? |
