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Bottled Water Questions & Answers
Bottled water is a great beverage choice for hydration and refreshment because of its consistent safety, quality, good taste and convenience. The US. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully regulates bottled water as a packaged food product and requires bottled water to adhere to FDA's extensive food safety, labeling and inspection requirements. Bottled water is also subject to state regulations and, at the industry level, members of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) are required to follow the IBWA Model Code.
Water is classified as "bottled water" or "drinking water" when it meets all applicable federal and state standards, is sealed in a sanitary container and is sold for human consumption. By law, FDA standards for bottled water must be at least as stringent and protective of public health as standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for public water systems.
Some beverages containing certain ingredients or additives may cause that product to be classified as a soft drink, dietary supplement or some other categorization. Soda water, seltzer water and tonic water are not considered bottled waters. They are regulated differently, may contain sugar and calories and are classified as soft drinks.
What are the different types of bottled water?
FDA has established a bottled water Standard of Identity to define the several different types of bottled water based on specific characteristics of the product. Bottled water products meeting the Standard of Identity may be labeled as bottled water or drinking water, or one or more of the following terms:
Spring Water
- Bottled Water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. Spring water must be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. Spring water collected with the use of an external force must be from the same underground stratum as the spring and must have all the physical properties before treatment, and be of the same composition and quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface of the earth.
Purified Water - Water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other suitable processes while meeting the definition of purified water in the United States Pharmacopoeia may be labeled as purified bottled water. Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the above processes may include "distilled water" if it is produced by distillation, "deionized water" if it is produced by deionization or "reverse osmosis (RO) water" if the process used is reverse osmosis.
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