Labels to spell out Aquafina source: tap water

[formerarmybrat23]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070727/aquafina_water_070727/20070727?hub=CTVNewsAt11

 
Labels to spell out Aquafina source: tap water
Updated Fri. Jul. 27 2007 12:04 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

PepsiCo Incorporated has decided to be transparent about the fact that its Aquafina bottled water product is made from tap water.

The move is widely seen as a compromise to demands from environmental advocates and political opponents who are growing increasingly critical of the industry.

Corporate Accountability International, a consumer advocate group that claims to "challenge irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world," has been pushing the major water bottlers to end what it calls misleading practices.

"After months of intensive campaign activity, Pepsi has agreed to provide consumers with more information about the source of the water used for Aquafina," says a press release from the group's website.

"In direct response to a national day of action yesterday, Pepsi agreed to spell out 'Public Water Source' on the Aquafina label."

Through its Think Outside the Bottle Campaign, the group has objected to the fact that Aquafina labels feature an image of snow-capped mountains with the words "pure water, perfect taste," suggesting the source is a mountain spring, when in fact it is purified municipal water.

In fact, the group claims 40 per cent of bottled water uses tap water as its source.

"Pepsi's response to the Think Outside the Bottle campaign is an important first step," said campaign director Gigi Kellett in the statement.

"Concerns about the bottled water industry, and increasing corporate control of water, are growing across the country. It is significant that Pepsi is taking some action, especially since Aquafina is the leading bottled water brand in the U.S."

Pepsi's Aquafina and beverage industry leader Coca-Cola's Dasani are both made by purifying water that comes from public reservoirs. By comparison, Danone's Evian and Nestle's Poland Spring brands are labelled as "spring waters" and are tapped from locations said to have especially pure water.

Amid concerns about the quality of bottled waters, Coke told Reuters News Service it would begin posting information online about the results of quality control testing it performs on its Dasani product by as early as late summer.

Kellett, whose campaign encourages people to drink tap water, said Coke's move also shows that progress is being made.

"Concerns about the bottled-water industry, and increasing corporate control of water, are growing across the country," Kellett said.

Bottled water has grown as a source of revenue for major beverage companies, while sales of traditional carbonated beverages have slipped amid growing health concerns and weakened demand.

PepsiCo is based in Purchase, N.Y. while Coca-Cola is based in Atlanta.

A little P.O'd that when i buy a water I have essentially paid for it twice. Once for home use and once to be bottled all fancy. I do buy bottled water, only for convience. I cant stand pop or juice; they aren't refreshing like water.  I will continue buying ofcourse, and reusing the same bottle at home before getting another. Just like everything in life you pay more for convience.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Okay, I'll jump on this right away.  I work in the industry that makes, sells, and installs water purification and bottling equipment.  Before the water goes into the bottle, this is what happens to it:
- Water is taken from an already treated municipal source
- Filtered through activated carbon bed to remove chlorine (a carcinogenic salt), colour, odour and objectionable taste.
- Ion exchange bed to remove calcium and magnesium, in order to soften the water
- A 20 micron sediment pre-filter
- A 5 micron sediment pre-filter
- A reverse osmosis membrane (in the case of Aquafina, probably LOTS of membranes)
- Storage in a food grade, sterile holding tank, stainless steel or poly
- A carbon block polishing post filter to neutralize any taste picked up from the storage vessel
- A 1 micron absolute post filter to remove any fine particulates
- A high intensity UV lamp as a final bacteriological barrier.

It's not like we strain tap water through a pair of Granny's old undies,  the water in the Aquafina bottle is an infinitely superior product to the crap from the tap. Nobody is holding a gun to your head to buy it, but I wouldn't let my kids drink tap water.

 

[proudnurse]

I purchased a water cooler, about 7 years ago and have never looked back. I currently live in a building that is quite a bit older, (have lived here for almost 4 years now) have had several plumbing issues since the time I have moved in (property management tries to do things as 'cheap' as possible) so, when it comes to drinking the water from the 'taps' here I am not overly settled on that.

I fill the bottles up with spring water at my local hardware store, when I run out... and I definately do notice a big difference in taste, when I have not been home and drank tap water (and you do not get that icky lime build up on the tea kettle)

Myself, I'd rather be safe than sorry and drink spring water Definately, filling up your own water bottle to 'go' saves $ as well, as I know that purchasing a bottle of it from the pop machine... is a little pricy.

~Rebecca

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Been drinking well water and tap water for 46 years, haven't become sick or died yet. Both my grandparents lived into their 90's drinking well water and tap water, this was years before bottled water. Tap water certainly didn't kill them, old age did.

Sorry but no one can ever convince me that bottled water is any better than what comes out of my tap. I refuse to pay a $1.99 for the same water that I get for pennies a glass from my home. If the water in my tap is so bad for me, then my family and I should have been in pine box's long ago, Pure hogwash! it's a matter of simple economics, to separate me from my money.

Bottled water may have a few less PPM of chlorine, which is harmless in the amounts that are in our tap water along with other substances that are quite harmless to us in the amounts present in our municipal drinking water. This is because the water is already purified and made potable for us to consume. If this wasn't the case, then every municipality across Canada would have a "don't drink the tap water advisory" all the time. Bottled water is good for emergencies, when the municipal water supply is compromised, which doesn't happen very often. Myself, I boil.

Next thing they'll be trying to convince us is that eating fruits & vegetables is hazardous to our health. Oh and heres a perfect example of a study done on, why carrots are hazardous to your health. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_8_17/ai_78888168.

Gimme a break already. :

 

[Kat Stevens]

Municipal water sources are TREATED, FILTERED, and STERILIZED, not purified.  If you're going to show your expertise on something, get your terminology straight. There are zero ppm of chlorine in bottled water, we use ozone and UV as a sterilizer, not a carcinogen. The ppm indicated on the bottle is TDS, not chlorine. Average municipal tap water has a TDS of 300-500 ppm of TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS, bottled water typically less than 10 ppm.  Again, nobody is forcing you to drink the bottled stuff.  As for all the heavy metals that occur in tap water, the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking water allows for certain amounts of all these listed below, and more.  Heavy metals are cumulative, your body can't get rid them. 

Asbestos  Cyanazine  Iron  Taste
Azinphos-methyl Diazinon Magnesium Temperature
Bendiocarb Dicamba Malathion Terbufos
Benzo(a)pyrene 2,4-Dichlorophenol Methoxychlor 2,3,4,6-Tetrachlorophenol
Bromoxynil Diclofop-methyl Metribuzin Toluene
Cadmium Dimethoate Odour 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol
Calcium Diquat Paraquat Trifluralin
Carbaryl Diuron Pentachlorophenol Xylenes
Carbofuran Ethylbenzene Phorate Zinc
Chloride Gasoline Picloram
Colour Glyphosate Silver

All of these have been found in tap water, in varying amounts.  Do me a favour, I wont tell you how to polish a cap badge or paint rocks, if you don't tell me what's involved in my job, both in and out of uniform, okay?

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Kat all I said is I haven't died yet, take a pill, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job! Your bias in towards the bottled water industry because you work for them. And I'm telling you as a consumer how I feel about the industry and how as a consumer I won't spend money on it. Fair enough?

In my opinion and as a consumer I one, bottled water is no better or worse for me, than what comes out of my tap and I did say It may have a little less chlorine in it or other substances that tap water, but I'm no less better of drinking tap water than what I'm bottled water. It hasn't killed me has it? You want proof, well their it is, my family and I consume 5-6 glasses each daily of tap water, we're healthy, no ill effects. Until someone can come along and tell me with out a shadow of a doubt that  drinking tap water is and absolute detroment to my families health, we'll continue.That's my opinion and no ones going to change it, sorry.

Then tell me then why bottled water companies for years insisted that there source water always came from pristine mountain fed streams and brooks, or kept it secret from the public until now, Why the big change of heart?  I've had the privilage of tasting real fresh mountain fed stream water while growing up on our farm, near the Appalachian mountains in Quebec and it tastes absolutley nothing like your bottled water, as a matter of fact i'm taking my family up home on vacation in two weeks to see my folks, so i'll get to drink some more of that pristine mountain fresh water. Great fishing also in those pristine fresh water lakes. Try it sometime.

And for the record I'm not in uniform any longer, i'm now a regular civilian with a regular job who is an informed conumer. "I don't shine anything any longer but my cars, sorry to disappoint.

""An informed consumer is a force to be reckoned with""
     Sam Walton
     
 
 

 

[Cronicbny]

To be fair, I'd rather drink what comes out of the tap than anything else. "spring water" never appealed to me.. being from Alberta you'd always have to fear the ever deadly "Beaver Fever" if you drank natural stream/river/spring water.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Kat all I said is I haven't died yet, take a pill, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job! Your bias in towards the bottled water industry because you work for them. And I'm telling you as a consumer how I feel about the industry and how as a consumer I won't spend money on it. Fair enough?

In my opinion and as a consumer I one, bottled water is no better or worse for me, than what comes out of my tap and I did say It may have a little less chlorine in it or other substances that tap water, but I'm no less better of drinking tap water than what I'm bottled water. It hasn't killed me has it? You want proof, well their it is, my family and I consume 5-6 glasses each daily of tap water, we're healthy, no ill effects. Until someone can come along and tell me with out a shadow of a doubt that  drinking tap water is and absolute detroment to my families health, we'll continue.That's my opinion and no ones going to change it, sorry.

Then tell me then why bottled water companies for years insisted that there source water always came from pristine mountain fed streams and brooks, or kept it secret from the public until now, Why the big change of heart?  I've had the privilage of tasting real fresh mountain fed stream water while growing up on our farm, near the Appalachian mountains in Quebec and it tastes absolutley nothing like your bottled water, as a matter of fact i'm taking my family up home on vacation in two weeks to see my folks, so i'll get to drink some more of that pristine mountain fresh water. Great fishing also in those pristine fresh water lakes. Try it sometime.

And for the record I'm not in uniform any longer, i'm now a regular civilian with a regular job who is an informed conumer. "I don't shine anything any longer but my cars, sorry to disappoint.

""An informed consumer is a force to be reckoned with""
    Sam Walton
   
 
 

You got it wrong:  I'm in the business because I know water can be made better, not the other way around.  My background in water stuff comes from being a water supply guy in 1 CER and 4 CER for a bunch of years, and instructing on 3 ROWPU operators courses, two at CFSME, and one at 1 CER that I created from scratch. .  That's where my dislike of what's in tap water comes from, NOT my bank ballance.  Plus, it was the only marketable skill I had after 23 years without the potential of lengthy prison terms.

 

[Col.Steiner]

That's why I drink Molson Ex!