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?" NRDCÎs 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 FDAÎs
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 FDAÎs 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 FDAÎs 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
provides water that is higher in quality than any bottled water,
for only 9 cents/gal... GUARANTEED!
With Aquasana, you get more... and pay less! |
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