An article from Today's Dietitian debates the issue. Currently, 60% of bottled water is packaged and sold in the same state, so it is exempt from any FDA regulations. Another not so well known fact is that “some bottled waters do not meet EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standards.” I know that I usually try to avoid unregulated food items, but I never thought water to be one of them.
Water from the tap is actually very well regulated by the EPA and is accepted to be generally safe. If you choose bottled water, it is very important to know where your water is coming from and how it has been processed, or you might as well just drink from the faucet! You have to make sure that is has been distilled or processed through reverse osmosis to ensure it is quality bottled water.
So, which is actually better? I guess the important thing is preference. I like bottled water for convenience and portability, but in actuality, it may not be any better (and it may actually be worse) than drinking straight out of the faucet. Also keep in mind that if you keep water bottles in a hot environment, they can be a site for bacteria growth! Yuck! I think I'm going back to the tap (at least most of the time). How about you?
Nutrition Specialist
Comment: July 17, 2008 8:10 AM - 
said...
Please comment on using a water filtered equipment as a comparison.
Comment: July 17, 2008 4:20 PM - said...
I use water that I filter with a filter pitcher, but it is not always convenient to take along.
As far as FDA approval is concerned, "IF FDA APPROVES IT, AVOID IT AT ALL COST'!!!
Just look at the number of deaths from FDA approved drugs.
Comment: September 21, 2008 10:59 PM - said...
Distilled water is not good for you. Natural spring water is good. Also never drink the bottled water heated in the car, it will cause breast cancer as it creats toxic in the plastic. Let all of your lady friends and family know.
I use bottled water for convience, other than that, use filtered water for cooking at home.
Comment: September 22, 2008 2:49 AM - said...
Another important consideration when using bottles water is "How long will the bottles stay around in our landfills?
One well known bottled water is packaged in India. Now the water itself is probably very good, but the method used to gain it is unsavory. This mega company has bought the water right to a particular area where there are a lot of subsistance farmers. They eke out a living on poor farmland. The water table that has supplied water for irrigation has been drained so low from this bottler that they can no longer dig deep enough to get the water they desperatly need for farming.
All so that we can buy "better water" than the tap supplies.
Comment: September 22, 2008 6:19 AM - said...
If you've been keeping up with the news lately, 40% of bottled water comes from tap! You are paying for packaging....It is not regulated by the FDA so you are actually hurting the environment with all the plastic
Comment: September 22, 2008 6:45 AM - said...
You obviously don't live in New Jersey. Sorry, but I don't even like to breathe its air, much less drink its water.
Comment: September 22, 2008 7:07 AM - said...
Tap water - CITY water - filled with CHEMICALS like cholorine - that is NOT safe, in addition to tasting awful. Chlorine is a thyroid disrupter (obviously not a good thing for people trying to lose weight!) and can contribute to other things even worse - I agree - because the FDA says it's safe is a good reason to question it even more! The FDA is more concerned with the profits of big business and Big Pharma then the health of people!
Comment: September 22, 2008 8:15 AM - said...
What ANONYMOUS above does not consider is HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE because of the FDA. You see, the F part of FDA is a blessing. I have been in the organics field for many years. I look now at how many other countries are putting out "organic food". Then, I look at things like how many people in their country are dying from lead-based cookware, or tainted milk, or any other plethora of unpleasant things. I won't buy food from any foreign country except Canada, Germany, and the UK. I KNOW what their food laws are like, and they are usually stricter than ours.
(also, my husband is a surgeon. The D part of the FDA may not always be perfect, but where would many be without it?)
As far as water is concerned, I have always thought the bottled water "fad" to be a hype. PLUS , look at what all of those portable bottles are doing to the environment. And, many bottling companies today just turn on their OWN tap to fill a bottle - so you are, in essence, paying their water bill. . . .
Seriously, portability is nice - but why not use a filtration system of some sort (like reverse osmosis) at HOME and fill a REUSABLE container: it is THE BEST thing you can do for yourself and the environment! Saves money and landfill.
Comment: September 22, 2008 9:45 AM - said...
New Jersey may not have breatheable air or drinkable water, but we do recycle our water bottles. Doesn't anyone else? If not, why not encourage your community to do so?
Comment: September 22, 2008 9:52 AM - said...
Hello. Tap or bottled water or?
the water we have here in the very north is not most often not safe for us to drink. We drink bottles, filtered and from water cooler, we think is safe. the chemicles that are put into the water to make it safe is very noticable in taste and smell.
Bottled water is very convienent to take with you anywhere. and tastes better.
Comment: September 22, 2008 2:53 PM - said...
I don't like the way tap water tastes, so I stick to bottled water the best I can.
Comment: September 24, 2008 6:44 PM - said...
I live in a rural community, and my water comes from my own well. I have a noticeable sulfur smell to my tap water, so for drinking only, I use bottled water. I recycle every bottle, and do not refill them. I use my well water for cooking, teeth brushing, making juice from frozen-just not for drinking straight. I buy what ever water is cheapest, although I do check where the water was bottled.
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