Recent allegations against the Coca-Cola Company and its brand name of bottled water, Dasani, have publicly highlighted one of the biggest misconceptions about the quality of bottled water. Coca-Cola, advertising its bottled water as “pure, still water,” is now being investigated for misleading consumers about the true nature of the contents of its bottles. Rather than deriving its water from natural springs, Coca-Cola had actually been filling its Dasani bottles with purified tap water.
Of course, this problem of reconstituted tap water in Dasani bottles
would not be so large if it was an isolated incident. Unfortunately,
the process of bottling tap water is not limited to the Coca-Cola
Company. In 1999, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
published the results of a four-year study in which researchers tested
more than 1,000 samples of 103 brands of bottled water. These
researchers found that,
“An estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just
tap water in a bottle—sometimes further treated, sometimes not.”
In one case, a brand of bottled water, advertised as “pure, glacier
water,” was found to be taken from a municipal water supply while
another brand, flaunted as “spring water,” was pumped from a water
source next to a hazardous waste dumping site. While “purified tap
water” is arguably safer and purer than untreated tap water (depending
upon the purification methods), a consumer should expect to receive
something more than reconstituted tap water for the exceptional prices
of bottled water.
If bottled water does not necessarily offer purer water than tap water,
surely it provides a better tasting water product, right? The answer to
this question is no. Bottled water does not always taste better than
tap water.
In an interesting study conducted by Showtime television, the
hosts found that 75% of tested New York City residents actually
preferred tap water over bottled water in a blind taste test.
While taste is certainly highly subjective, this study shows that
bottled water essentially holds nothing over tap water. In many cases,
bottled water is no purer than tap water, and it may not even taste
better.
Our water here has so many additives to it, I prefer bottled water to the fluoride, chlorine, etc they add at the "purification" plants here in town.
Posted by: Faith's Thoughts and Dreams | Wednesday, 28 November 2012 at 12:11 AM
Tap water in Larnaca is a bit brackish, so I prefer bottled water. When I first came to live in the beautiful town of Zenon, I used to carry tap water from hometown Nicosia. :-)
Posted by: Anastasia | Tuesday, 27 November 2012 at 11:21 PM
I love sparkling water with a small piece of lemon, so my favorite is bottled water.
Posted by: Alexia M | Monday, 26 November 2012 at 09:03 PM
I usually drink tap water but use a water filter.
Posted by: Lakis Ioannou | Friday, 23 November 2012 at 09:12 PM