FDA’s rules exempt many forms of what most of us would consider bottled water from its definition of “bottled water,” and therefore, according to FDA, exempts them from all of FDA’s specific standards for bottled water testing and contamination. If the product is declared on the bottle ingredient label simply as “water,” or as “carbonated water,” “disinfected water,” “filtered water,” “seltzer water,” “soda water,” “sparkling water,” or “tonic water,” it is not considered “bottled water” by FDA. FDA says it exempted these waters because they are “not understood by the public to be bottled water.” What is covered by FDA’s rules? FDA says it regulates products labeled as “spring water,” “mineral water,” “drinking water,” “bottled water,” “purified water,” “distilled water,” and a few other specific categories of bottled water — creating enormous confusion for any consumer seeking to figure out whether FDA rules apply or do not apply to a specific water on the grocery store shelf.
Most consumers would agree that water in a bottle listed on the ingredient label as “water” or “sparkling water” should be exempted from the specific health-protection standards that cover any other bottled water. California and some other states have chosen a different course than FDA and regulate all water that comes in bottles likely to be ingested by people as bottled water. We support this approach and recommend that FDA revise its rules to cover all water intended for drinking or culinary purposes that is likely to be ingested by people and that comes in a bottle, as California and some other states have done.
Industry data indicate that these waters that FDA exempts from the definition of bottled water represent a significant chunk of the overall bottled water industry. For example, a report in the beverage-industry trade press noted that in 1996 there were more than 152 million cases of sparkling water sold in the United States. This of course does not include many nonsparkling exempted waters such as “filtered water” or “disinfected water.”
For these “non-bottled water” bottled waters, FDA officials have said the specific FDA contamination standards and water-quality testing requirements, as well as the specific bottled water good-manufacturing-practice rules for bottled water, are not applicable. Thus, no contamination monitoring is specifically required, and only a vague narrative standard applies, according to FDA, which states that the water cannot be “adulterated” and must be safe, wholesome, and truthfully labeled. These nebulous terms are not defined and, to date, apparently the FDA has never enforced the standard with any of these bottled products.
Consumers need to find alternative to these highly unregulated bottled water products. A Water Filter Bottle is a simple, easy-to-carry water bottle complete with a water filter inside. Filtered Bottles are the alternative, which provide affordable, convenient, environmental friendly, and safe great tasting water. Don’t go another day supporting an industry that isn’t looking out for you the consumer.