Bottled water 'less safe' than tap (despite costing up to 1,000 times more)

[Northerner]

It's the one accessory that no health-conscious fitness enthusiast is seen without.
And the benefits of bottled water are so valued that it costs up to 1,000 times more than what comes out of our taps.
But far from being healthier, the bottled variety is subject to far less stringent safety tests than tap water.
It is also much more likely to be contaminated or become a source of infection, according to a university study.
The warning suggests that much of the ?1.5billion-plus Britons pay for bottled water each year in the belief that it is better for us is spent mistakenly.
On average, we drink 33 litres of bottled water annually, whether ordinary mineral, fizzy, or ?purified? tap water.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...sting-1-000-times-more.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

[robert@fm]

As I pointed out in a thread last summer, "cheap" own brands (which are still far more expensive than home-filtered water) are likely to be Peckham Spring anyway, and thus a waste of money. 🙄

It's a lot cheaper to just buy a filter jug and produce your own purified water; and that way you not only get pure and great-tasting water, but the safety checks as well. 🙂

 

[Steff]

I get through 14 litres of bottled a week and wont stop now

I dont buy it like the report says cause i think its better for me but because I dont like the water in London

 

[trophywench]

Well I can empathise with THAT Steff, I recall being quite ill once whilst out in London having a meal (when exactly the same thing happened in Manchester 18 months later I realised what it was - my stomach cannot take very cold, very garlicky foods, however nice they are so gazpacho and jambon persillee are both right off my menu now!) but anyway they brought me a glass of tap water and I took a mouthful and spat it straight out. Soda water, fresh air and a very very urgent loo visit sorted me out though! (Trapped wind is certainly No Joke LOL)

And on both occasions I proceeded to thoroughly enjoy the rest of my meals!

Doesn't make really good tea either, does it?

 

[robert@fm]

I too hate London tap water -- which is why I've been using Brita filter jugs almost since they first appeared about 40 years ago. 🙄 The Maxtra system in particular turns London tap water into water which tastes as good as any bottled water (still -- sparkling water is basically carbonic acid (not to be confused with carbolic🙂) and thus has a different, sharper taste) and is a lot cheaper (5p per litre at most).

 

[Vicsetter]

The trouble is, you cannot carry tap water with you, unless you have a suitable container. We are told that plastic bottles contaminate water if left in a car or washed out (BPA leaching), and I wouldn't want to carry a glass bottle, so that only leaves a flask or the purchase of a multi use bottle. Anyone got a cheap solution?

 

[DeusXM]

I drink tap water all the time - I wouldn't dream of drinking bottled water unless necessary as thankfully this is Great Britain, where we've actually got things like health codes and standards to ensure whatever comes out the tap is perfectly drinkable. At the risk of upsetting people as well, I would be extremely skeptical of anyone who could really tell the difference in taste of water between regions or even between bottled and tap - if there is a taste issue, it'll be down to the plumbing in your home rather than the water.

I'm also not too worried about plastic bottle reuse - although there is supposedly a risk, the Food Standards Agency seems to feel there isn't a high level of exposure. A multi-use bottle probably isn't that expensive anyway.

 

[Northerner]

Previous Studies On Toxic Effects of BPA Couldn't Be Reproduced

Following a three-year study using more than 2,800 mice, a University of Missouri researcher was not able to replicate a series of previous studies by another research group investigating the controversial chemical BPA. The MU study is not claiming that BPA is safe, but that the previous series of studies are not reproducible. The MU study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also investigated an estrogenic compound found in plants, genistein, in the same three-year study.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130102140526.htm

 

[Steff]

I drink tap water all the time - I wouldn't dream of drinking bottled water.

All I can say is bully for you, and diffirent strokes for diffirent folks, i dont have a go at people who drink out of taps therefore same should apply to you other way around

Also I assure you I can tell the diffirence in ther water when i am visiting family up north to down here in the south.

 

[Northerner]

All I can say is bully for you, and diffirent strokes for diffirent folks, i dont have a go at people who drink out of taps therefore same should apply to you other way around

Also I assure you I can tell the diffirence in ther water when i am visiting family up north to down here in the south.

I agree with you Steff, I have noticed the difference in taste between Yorkshire and the south, and notice it when I visit home. Really, you've only to look at the stuff that southern water leaves on the inside of my kettle to know they are not simply H2O! 😱 I did have a water filter when I lived in Folkestone but have got used to the stuff here in Southampton now.

 

[Vicsetter]

Water quality is I believe measured here in terms of microrganisms and toxic chemicals. There are vast differences in the mineral content and also the additive chemicals that various water boards add which all make big differences in the taste of tap water. Since moving to Scotland my dishwashers have lost all of the scale on their heating elements (despite having a water softener in Ipswich, the lime-scale still got through).

Whether BPA affects you or not it is unlikely that you can effectively sterilise a one-time use water bottle, it's a bit like the problem of selling jam in one-time use glass jars only more so. If you care to risk infections from contaminated plastic bottles that is up to you, however the re-usable bottles are only a few quid.