|
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 provides water that is higher in quality than any bottled
water‚ for only 9 cents/gal... GUARANTEED! |
