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| quote: | Bottled vs. Tap
Whether bottled water is better than tap water, and justifies its expense, remains under debate. Stephen Kay, vice president of the IBWA, says member bottlers are selling the quality, consistency and safety that bottled water promises, and providing a service for those whose municipal systems do not provide good quality drinking water.
"Bottled water is produced and regulated exclusively for human consumption," Kay says. "Some people in their municipal markets have the luxury of good water. Others do not."
Thornley, of the Minnesota Department of Health, agrees that consumers can depend on bottled water's safety and quality. But he says consumers should feel the same way about the quality of their tap water. Tap water may sometimes look or taste differently, he says, but that doesn't mean it's unsafe. In fact, the most dangerous contaminants are those that consumers cannot see, smell or taste, he says. But consumers don't need to worry about their presence, he adds. Municipal water systems serving 25 people or more are subject to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. As such, the water constantly and thoroughly tested for harmful substances, he says. If there is a problem, consumers will be warned through the media or other outlets.
"In lieu of being told otherwise, consumers should feel confident of the safety of their water," Thornley says.
Dr. Robert Ophaug, a professor of oral health at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, notes that tap water has another advantage many people don't think about : It typically contains fluoride. Many communities have elected to add fluoride to drinking water to promote strong teeth and prevent tooth decay in residents, though some groups continue to oppose this practice and believe it's detrimental to health.
Ophaug says bottled water often does not have fluoride added to it. Or, if it has been purified through reverse osmosis or distillation, the fluoride may have been removed. People who drink mostly bottled water, especially those who have children, need to be aware of this, he says. They may need to use supplemental fluoride that is available by prescription from dentists or doctors. The supplements are usually recommended for children ages 7 to 16. Fluoride supplements cost around $15 for a three-month supply.
"At the least, inform the children's dentist or doctor that you are relying on bottled water," Ophaug says.
The IBWA says there are more than 20 brands of bottled water with added fluoride available to consumers today. When fluoride is added to bottled water, the FDA requires that the term "fluoridated," "fluoride added," or "with added fluoride" be used on the label. Consumers interested in how much fluoride bottled water contains can usually find out by contacting individual companies directly. |
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| quote: | Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?
While bottled water marketing conveys images of purity, inadequate regulations offer no assurance.
[En Español]
Sales of bottled water in this country have exploded in recent years, largely as a result of a public perception of purity driven by advertisements and packaging labels featuring pristine glaciers and crystal-clear mountain springs. But bottled water sold in the United States is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water, according to a four-year scientific study recently made public by NRDC.
NRDC's study included testing of more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water. While most of the tested waters were found to be of high quality, some brands were contaminated: about one-third of the waters tested contained levels of contamination -- including synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic -- in at least one sample that exceeded allowable limits under either state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines.
A key NRDC finding is that bottled water regulations are inadequate to assure consumers of either purity or safety, although both the federal government and the states have bottled water safety programs. At the national level, the Food and Drug Administration is responsible for bottled water safety, but the FDA's rules completely exempt waters that are packaged and sold within the same state, which account for between 60 and 70 percent of all bottled water sold in the United States (roughly one out of five states don't regulate these waters either). The FDA also exempts carbonated water and seltzer, and fewer than half of the states require carbonated waters to meet their own bottled water standards.
Even when bottled waters are covered by the FDA's rules, they are subject to less rigorous testing and purity standards than those which apply to city tap water (see chart below). For example, bottled water is required to be tested less frequently than city tap water for bacteria and chemical contaminants. In addition, bottled water rules allow for some contamination by E. coli or fecal coliform (which indicate possible contamination with fecal matter), contrary to tap water rules, which prohibit any confirmed contamination with these bacteria. Similarly, there are no requirements for bottled water to be disinfected or tested for parasites such as cryptosporidium or giardia, unlike the rules for big city tap water systems that use surface water sources. This leaves open the possibility that some bottled water may present a health threat to people with weakened immune systems, such as the frail elderly, some infants, transplant or cancer patients, or people with HIV/AIDS. |
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looks like i found the answer why my mother has most excellent health and teeth, she drank tap water most of her life 
and another one (wow!):
| quote: | Study finds some bottled water has more bacteria and less fluoride than tap water
CLEVELAND -- People who buy bottled water for its perceived purity may not be getting what they're paying for. They're most likely not getting adequate fluoride either, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Ohio State University.
In a study published in the March issue of the Archives of Family Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association, researchers compared the bacterial content and fluoride levels of 57 samples of bottled water with tap water from each of Cleveland's four water treatment plants.
"Only three bottled waters ... had fluoride levels within the range recommended by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency," according to James Lalumandier, a CWRU assistant professor of dentistry, and Leona W. Ayers of OSU's College of Medicine and Public Health. The other 54 bottles fell short of the recommended range of 0.80 to 1.30 milligrams of fluoride per liter.
All Cleveland tap water samples, however, were not only within the accepted range but also scored very near the optimal level of 1.00 milligrams per liter.
Bacterial counts in the four tap water samples varied only slightly, from 0.2 to 2.7 bacterial colonies per milliliter. In the bottled water, bacterial counts ranged from less than 0.01 to 4,900 colonies per milliliter. Six bottled waters had bacteria counts of 1,500 to 4,900 colonies per milliliter.
"One of the reasons people choose to drink bottled water instead of tap water is because of the perceived purity of bottled water," the researchers observe, and indeed, 39 samples of bottled water were found to be purer than the tap water. However, 15 samples of bottled water had significantly higher bacteria levels than the tap water. Of these 15, the bacteria counts were more than twice as high as the most contaminated tap water sample and almost 2,000 times higher than the purest tap water sample.
Technicians at the Ohio Department of Health Laboratories in Columbus tested the water samples, which the researchers coded by number to eliminate the potential for bias.
Despite the high bacteria levels in some of the bottled water, all the water tested is safe to drink under government standards, Lalumandier said. Still, he and Ayers conclude, "use of bottled water on the assumption of purity can be misguided."
For Lalumandier, who heads the Department of Community Dentistry at the dental school, the low fluoride content of most bottled water is a significant concern. The use of fluoridated water is a major factor in the prevention of tooth decay in children and adults, he notes. People who rely on bottled water may be at greater risk for tooth decay. According to a survey of 1,000 pediatric patients, 9 percent of the children used bottled water as their primary source of drinking water.
"Children should be considered for prescribed fluoride supplements if they drink bottled water," the researchers recommend. However, since a small percentage of bottled water contains adequate fluoride, children who drink such water should not get supplementary fluoride. That's because excessive ingestion of fluoride during childhood can cause fluorosis, a demineralization of the dental enamel that may result in discolored teeth.
Manufacturers are not required to include fluoride levels on their labels, but the researchers believe they should be. Currently, consumers must either get their water tested or contact the manufacturer for this information. The researchers attempted to contact all 57 manufacturers in their study, but were successful in reaching only 37.
The bottled water industry is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the United States, with annual sales of nearly four billion gallons, Lalumandier and Ayers said.
"Bottled water should be required to meet the same standards for fluoride levels and bacterial content as tap water, as it makes up a significant proportion of the water consumed by the public," they conclude. |
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___________________
Just surrender yourself to the rhythm,
With your hands up in the sky,
Feel the energy deep inside your system
And leave this world behind...
Last edited by FunkyCrew on Jan-27-2007 at 22:33
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