Water consumption

Citation

(2001), "Water consumption", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 31 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2001.01731aab.006

Water consumption

Water consumption

According to Health Which? tap water can taste as good as bottled water. In the UK thirsty consumers get through 995 million of litres of water a year, so Health Which? decided to test still and bottled waters and test for taste and bacteria levels. Unfiltered and filtered samples of mains tap water were also included in the tests. High scoring water had a neutral or sweet taste and compared with natural mineral waters, many of the spring waters had a neutral taste. All the waters were checked for bacteria but none gave cause for concern. Generally, the sparkling waters had lower levels of bacteria than the still waters as carbonation makes it more difficult for bacteria to grow. Tap water taken from the area supplied by Thames Water also got top marks. Tap water undergoes many purification processes to bring it up to standards set out in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations. The maximum limits for minerals and contaminants allowed are often identical to those for bottled drinking water. Natural mineral water must be extracted from an underground source recognised by the local authority. It cannot be treated except for filtering to remove grit and processing to remove unstable elements such as iron and sulphur compounds. Spring water can have a variable mineral content but must be extracted from an underground source. Bottled drinking water may simply be treated tap water but has to meet the purity and hygiene standards set out in the bottled water regulations.