The bottled water fraud......

[marmar]

AP, via Yahoo!:



Bottled water has contaminants too, study finds
By JEFF DONN, AP National Writer
Wed Oct 15, 12:17 AM ET



Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.

The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch — that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.

However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. Two violated a California state standard, the study said.

An industry group branded the findings "alarmist." Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, said the study is based on the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern "even if it does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been set."

The study's lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap water that some companies use for their bottled water, other contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers said.

"In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better," said Jane Houlihan, an environmental engineer who co-authored the study. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081015/ap_on_sc/impure_bottled_water

[Burma Jones]

1. What I don't like about Tap Water.....

the chlorine taste......is easily remedied by a filter........


We used to have a well, that was some good water.....

[Crazy Dave]

2. Selling bottled water for over $1 per bottle

Holy shit there must be one hell of a profit margin selling that stuff.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. Bottled water is a huge waste of energy and resources...

and is a leading contaminant of the earth (plastic bottles).

One of the biggest scams ever perpetrated.

[raccoon]

4. Not only that, it's not good for the environment , all those plastic bottles hanging around. nt

[NeedleCast]

5. Witch Hunts Are Fun!

You know, I'm not a big bottled water drinker. The only time I drink anything other than water out of my Britta pitcher at home is if I'm going to be outside for long periods of time, and that's more for the convinience of having portable water than anything else. Even then, if I'm going hiking or something like that, I use my cantines.

That being said, it seems a bit less than impartial for an evironmental science group to be running this study. They got the results they wanted (sort of). Shocker! Go hunting for witches and you're sure to find some. The study seems to be condeming two of the ten tested brands of water (the other eight passed) for being "no better than tap water." But the thing is, they're not dangerous, they're just not better than tap water. The study goes on to list all sorts of scary sounding chemicals (which are present in just about everything you eat or drink). Oooohhhh Nooooo! Scary words, must not drink!

I don't buy bottled water for how it tastes. I buy it for it's portability and because if I'm outside and it's hot (or cold) and I'm sweating, you gotta stay hydrated. Getting kidney stones once will make you pay real close attention to this sort of thing.

[marmar]

6. So are you saying it's not true? Or that the megamillions of plastic bottles.....

..... sitting in landfills aren't a problem?

Where's the witch hunt here? :shrug:

[NeedleCast]

8. I'm saying it's a witch hunt

How many tons of plastic milk bottles are in landfills? How many tons of plastic soda bottles? How many tons of plastic juice bottles? Where are the "scientific" studies decrying those products? How many scary sounding chemicals are there in my jug of Ocean Spray cranberry juice?

The witch hunt is using scary sounding speech to describe something totally harmless, which is exactly what's being done in the case of the two waters that had "contaminants." What's glossed over in this "research" is that said contaminants in the quantity that was found are not harmful. Accidentally swallowing a sip of pool or lake water is probably 1000 times worse for you...and still probably wont do any harm. Also glossed over is the fact that 80% of the tested brands of water passed every purity test thrown at them despite the obvious bias of the study.

Yeah, plastic in landfills is a problem but lets not start singling out one producer of plastic waste over dozens of others that have existed far longer than the bottle water industry.

ALL of my plastic waste goes my recycling bin. On the rare occasion I have empty bottles of water I carry them with me and often re-use them. If we're talking about plastic waste in the form of empty water bottles, lets point the finger in the right direction, namely, the people disposing of plastic improperly.

[kiva]

13. Thank you for your input.

I also have wondered exactly why some people think that bottled water is so much worse than bottles of soda or juice. I used to live in an area with good tap water, and didn't understand why anyone would buy a bottle of water; here the water is extremely nasty tasting and, since I don't plan to stop drinking water I buy bottled. A bottle is reusable for several fillings (not something I generally do with other bottled beverages), and then off to the recycle bin.

[TlalocW]

7. Plus, the water used is often from the local municipal water supply

So what you're paying pennies for to come out of your tap, the companies are bottling and selling back to you at a 150% - at least - markup.

TlalocW

[JBoy]

9. Mmmm.... This water is strontiumlicious!

[Gormy Cuss]

10. While I would love to see the bottled water fetish disappear, EWG's methodology report

has one glaring omission -namely, the other eight brands tested. If they were house brands like the two that failed (Walmart's and Giant's) and were only distilled or "purified" waters then EWG may have been stacking the deck in order to support its policy recommendation to close a regulation loophole. I can't see any other reason why they would suppress the names of the other brands involved in their testing. I also found no explanation in their report for this omission. It's a puzzling omission given that so few brands were tested.

How can consumers know whether they are purchasing a reliable product or paying up a premium for over-priced tap water packaged in a questionable plastic bottle? Under Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, bottlers are obligated to list on the label the type of bottled water and, for bottled water sourced from a public water system, the label must disclose that fact (21 CFR 165.110(a)(3)). However, this requirement can be circumvented by the bottlers. Simply by using water that has been "purified", "deionized" or "distilled", bottlers are free from legal obligation to disclose the tap water origin of their product (FDA 2008b). As a result, our health is left at risk - and manufacturers who wish to cut corners and neglect appropriate treatment of water before bottling can easily do so....

In summary, FDA needs to close the loophole that allows bottlers to avoid disclosing municipal sources of their waters. FDA also needs to set adequate, enforceable standards that will guarantee quality and safety of bottled water. Finally, in order to continue enjoying good, healthy, and tasty drinking water for years to come, we urgently need to invest into protection of ambient waters, the sources of our drinking water, and the infrastructure that delivers water to our homes. All Americans deserve to have access to good quality drinking water, with full disclosure of its sources, treatment, and potential presence of chemical contaminants. Otherwise, marketing the image of purity and not delivering on the promise leaves bottled water drinkers at risk.

I agree with EWG that this loophole should be closed. That'd be a good first step in making it easier for consumers to avoid the municipal-water-sold-in-bottles scam.

[malaise]

11. Hello - spell Evian backwards

and meet reality. :D

[RepublicanElephant]

12. where does distilled water stand?

it's supposed to be more pure than filtered tap water.

i never see it mentioned in these bottled water stories.