Bottled Or Tap Water - Which Is Best?
Main Category: Water - Air Quality / AgricultureAlso Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 28 Mar 2007 - 3:00 PDT
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Although bottled water is perceived as a healthier, safer choice over tap water in consumer surveys, that is not necessarily always true, says sports nutritionist Cynthia Sass, R.D., C.S.S.D. In a presentation today at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 11th-annual Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition in Dallas, Texas, Sass outlined the basics of water consumption, comparing bottled and tap varieties.
"Twenty-five percent of all bottled water is actually repackaged tap water," said Sass. ""The more a consumer knows about the realities of bottled and tap water, the savvier they can be about selecting water based on costs, preferences and accessibility."
Is Bottled Best?
In a recent Gallop survey, most consumers indicated they drink bottled water based on their perception it is safer and purer than tap water. Taste was the second leading reason, while bottled water's convenience was also a factor.
Bottled water is considered a food, and thus regulated by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tap water is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both varieties are subject to testing for contaminants, although Sass points out there is no perfect system - both bottled and tap may contain contaminates such as bacteria, arsenic, lead or pesticides. Independent tests by groups such as the National Resources Defense Council have found:
-- Sixty to 70 percent of all bottled water in the United States is packaged and sold within the same state, which exempts it from FDA regulation. One in five states do not regulate that bottled water.
-- While most cities meet the standards for tap water, some tap water in the 19 U.S. cities tested was found to contain arsenic, lead, and pesticides.
-- In 1,000 bottles of 103 different brands of bottled water, 22 percent contained synthetic chemicals, bacteria and arsenic.
Most healthy adults can tolerate trace amounts of these contaminates if exposed, but Sass notes some people are more vulnerable and should be more aware of their water source. These people include cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, patients who are HIV+ positive or recovering from a transplant or major surgery, and pregnant women, children, and elderly adults.
For them especially, Sass recommends bottled water treated with reverse osmosis, municipal tap water with a filtering system certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) or distilled water. (Most packaging on certified filter devices bear the NSF seal.)
"Bottled" Facts
According to Sass, other selection criteria for consumers may include:
Cost: Bottled water can cost approximately $1 for a gallon jug, while tap water costs pennies on the dollar. Distilled water or water treated with reverse osmosis (water captured into vapor so that all solids are left behind and then recaptured into fluid) are purer and considered safe, but are also more expensive.
Packaging:
Marketing: Fitness and specialty waters do not contribute to an athletic advantage or edge. In fact, vitamin-fortified waters, which provide high daily-value percentages per cup, may pose a risk for oversupplementation. "Think of your one-a-day vitamin," says Sass. "Some of these waters are multi-vitamins in a bottle, so read the label and compare with the rest of your daily intake, including food."
"Bottled water doesn't deserve the nutritional halo that most people give it for being pure," she says. "If you're not an exclusive bottled water drinker, you may find it worthwhile to check into filtering your tap water to save money."
The Summit is presented this year with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) as an educational partner.
The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 20,000 International, National and Regional members are dedicated to promoting and integrating scientific research, education and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health and quality of life.
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/66364.php.
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Learn The Facts About Bottled Water
posted by International Bottled Water Association on 29 Mar 2007 at 12:43 pmNRDC Offers Scant Evidence for Bottled Water Contamination
In February 1999, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) issued a report entitled "Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?" (“NRDC Report"], which came to two basic conclusions:
• that bottled water is insufficiently regulated by federal and state government agencies and by the bottled water industry; and
• that, based on an analytical product survey conducted by NRDC, bottled water "may not be as pure as we are led to believe"
In an attempt to document contamination, NRDC conducted an extensive survey of bottled water gathered over several years. To dramatize the limited and unremarkable results its survey produced, NRDC devotes many pages in the report describing adverse health effects information associated with a variety of chemicals at levels well above those found (and in some cases not found) in its survey. Nonetheless, when the NRDC results are critically reviewed, rather than demonstrating serious or even worrisome contamination, the result that emerges is far better than the NRDC Report's concession that "most bottled water is of good quality" (p. 35).
NRDC surveyed more than 1,200 bottles of bottled water, looking for roughly 57 contaminants. Throughout all of their analysis, NRDC found not one instance of contamination that would raise a legitimate health concern. Indeed, the survey could find only four results where federal health standards were exceeded. Closer inspection reveals that the two results charged by the NRDC Report to exceed total coliform standards, were in fact quite likely false positives because they could not be replicated in subsequent tests as required by federal standards. The other two exceedances were for a fluoride standard so narrow, and with such limited application, as to be irrelevant to public health. In fact, the levels found in the bottled water are below the EPA health-based fluoride standard for public water systems.
Bottled Water 101
Bottled water is regulated through a comprehensive regulatory system at the federal and state level. Over the past several years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adopted several new bottled water quality standards, as well as issued guidance and regulations to address increased security threats. These programs, in combination with guidelines developed and followed by the bottled water industry serve to further enhance the safety of bottled water.
Bottled water is among the foods most highly regulated by FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA; 21 U.S.C. §321 et seq.). Under FDA jurisdiction, bottled water is subject to extensive general food safety and labeling requirements, including prohibitions on misbranding and adulteration (21 C.F.R. §§101 and 109). Also, FDA has extensive enforcement capabilities, including the power to inspect food manufacturing facilities, issue warning letters, request voluntary recalls, and issue seizure or injunction against products or companies out of compliance, including seeking criminal prosecutions. Collectively, these requirements are the cornerstone of the very safe food supply enjoyed in the United States.
Bottled Safety Overview
In addition to these general food provisions, bottled water is also required to meet federal standards applicable specifically to bottled water, including Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) (21 C.F.R. §§110 and 129) and specific identity and quality requirements (21 C.F.R. §165.110). The GMPs for bottled water apply to every aspect of production, from source water protection, through processing, to finished water sampling.
The FFDCA also directs FDA to consider adopting bottled water standards similar to those adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for “tap water.” By law, bottled water standards must be at least as stringent and protective of public health as EPA tap water standards. States can also regulate bottled water as well as perform functions that can include laboratory certification and source water approval.
The safety of bottled water is further enhanced through an industry program developed by the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), which has developed the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice designed to promote the safety and high quality of bottled water. To ensure adherence with federal and state regulatory standards and these industry guidelines, a program of annual facility inspections has been established.
Consumers in the US choose bottled water as an alternative to other packaged beverages when they want to avoid or moderate calories, caffeine, sugar, artificial flavors or colors, alcohol, and other ingredients. Or, they choose bottled water because they are not satisfied with the taste, odor, or color of their tap water. There are thousands of tap systems across the US, most of which are succeeding; but others are faced with occasional “challenges” or natural events that may cause service interruptions. It does not, however, always boil down to a tap versus bottled water choice. Many consumers likely drink both depending on the circumstances.
What Is
IBWA is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters. Founded in 1958, IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with FDA and state governments to set stringent standards for safe, high quality bottled water products. In addition to FDA and state regulations, the Association requires member bottlers to adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is an annual, unannounced plant inspection by an independent, third party organization. Consumers can log onto IBWA's web site (http://www.bottledwater.org) for more information about bottled water and a list of members' brands.
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