To Drink or Not to Drink
The FDA has established strict labeling guidelines for bottled water, but with so many different categories, how helpful are they to consumers? Bottled water is generally defined in the regulations as “water that is intended for human consumption and that is sealed in bottles or other containers with no added ingredients except that it may optionally contain safe and suitable antimicrobial agents.” From there, it gets more and more complicated. Here is a list of the most common bottled water types, so you can learn what exactly it is that you are drinking.
Purified water - this one is very common. It is water that has been “produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other suitable processes.” It may also be called deionized water, distilled water, or reverse osmosis water, depending on the process used to purify the water.
This definition allows manufacturers to use tap water and purify it by any one of the listed processes. If you are looking for something that is definitely not tap water, try one of these categories.
Artesian water - water from a well tapping a confined aquifer in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer is “artesian water” or “artesian well water.”
Mineral water - to be called mineral water, the water must originate from “a geologically and physically protected underground water source” and may contain “not less than 250 parts per million (ppm) total dissolved solids (TDS). To qualify as mineral water, no minerals may be added.
Spring water - again, this is a common type of bottled water. It is water that is “derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth” and it may be collected “only at the spring or through a bore hole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring.” The water has to be pushed to the surface by a natural force and has to emerge from the ground through a natural opening. If water is labeled as spring water, the label must identify the location of the spring.
[Photo from Crystal Geyser]
