Bottled Water Safe?

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

It's practically everywhere. In the workplace. Beside exercise stations in health clubs. At athletic events. In backpacks hanging from the shoulders of students. Even on tables at conferences and workshops. Bottled water, once considered the refreshment of the affluent, has become the liquid icon of today's active, health-conscious consumer.

In 1984, Americans consumed an average of 4 gallons of bottled water per person. By 1991, that number had doubled, according to data collected by the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA).

More than 700 different brands of bottled water are available in the United States. Seventy-five of those brands are made from imported waters. The average retail price of a 1-gallon bottle of domestic drinking water is 90 cents, $5.29 for a 5-gallon bottle that is delivered.

Taste is the number one reason why people say they prefer bottled water, according to consumer attitude and usage surveys conducted by IBWA, the trade association for the $2 billion bottled water industry.

The final disinfectant agent used by most of the nation's 430 bottling facilities is ozone, a form of oxygen. But, unlike the chlorine used to disinfect tap water, ozone leaves no chemical residual aftertaste or smell.

The second reason more people today are choosing bottled water has to do with the notion that it's purer and healthier. Because low levels of lead or chlorination byproducts are sometimes found in tap water, most bottled water drinkers believe the bottled variety is healthier than water from the tap. But is it?

Making Bottled Water Safe

Bottled water quality standards were originally adopted in 1973 and were based on the 1962 U.S. Public Health Service standards for drinking water.

In 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act made the Environmental Protection Agency responsible for ensuring the safety of municipal water systems, which includes setting maximum limits for chemical, bacteriological and radioactive contaminants and physical contaminants that affect odor, taste and color. In 1986, amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act required EPA to set additional standards. When EPA adds or amends a contaminant standard, the Food and Drug Administration must set an acceptable level for it in bottled water or publish in the Federal Register its reasons for not doing so.

Since 1975, under the "misbranded products" provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA has been responsible for ensuring that the quality standards for bottled water are compatible with EPA standards for quality and safety of tap water. In 1978, FDA broadened the bottled water standards to include maximum allowable contaminant levels for pesticides, mercury and radioactive matter.

In carrying out its mission to ensure the safety of bottled water, FDA also inspects bottled water facilities on a regular basis. Like other foods, bottled water must be processed, packaged, shipped, and stored in a safe and sanitary manner, and be truthfully and accurately labeled.

According to Terry Troxell, Ph.D., director of FDA's division of programs and enforcement policy in the Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages, "If we [FDA] find a problem during an inspection, we make that company a priority and FDA field personnel inspect it more frequently. For example, after the Perrier 'mineral' water incident in 1990 [when the carcinogen benzene was found in Perrier], we did a follow-up survey to analyze the water's quality."

State agencies, some under contract to FDA, and industry also conduct regular inspections of bottled water facilities in an effort to ensure that only safe products are distributed.

"We're interested in making sure bottled water companies produce safe products and that they're truthfully labeled," Troxell said.

The terms "spring," "well," "artesian," "distilled," "purified" and "mineral" have appeared on bottled water labels for years. But recently, there have been an increasing number of companies whose labels didn't match their products.

At the same time, variations in how states define the different types of bottled water have been an issue. In North Carolina, for example, "spring" water refers only to water that has been collected from the natural orifice in the earth's surface. In other states, it can be both water that has been collected from the natural orifice or from a bore hole that taps the spring and is located near where the spring emerges.

As a result, FDA, last Jan. 5, announced proposed regulations that would establish standard definitions for all bottled water products, and set new limits for approximately 50 chemical and other contaminants that may be present in bottled water. FDA has already established quality standards for 31 contaminants.

The regulations would also apply the quality standard requirements for bottled water to mineral water.

IBWA petitioned FDA to establish stricter guidelines for bottled water in l988.

After studying the situation, FDA proposed standard definitions because the terms provided by the "misbranded products" provision of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act were not specific enough for use in identifying components of such a diverse group of bottled water products.

"The bottled water industry has grown too much over the last few years to continue handling violations on a case-by- case basis," Troxell said. "We need revised bottled water regulations that are broad based."

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.