Bottled Water Has Different Categories – Which One Do You Prefer

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is key monitoring body for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The safety and quality are of paramount importance for these two industries. Thereby, making bottled as well as custom label bottled water one of the most intensively regulated packaged food products. The supervising authority for the custom label
bottled water is the state and federal agencies, authorized by the government. This provides layered safety assurance for consumers, right from the source to the finished product. Parameters for testing bottled water and tap water are same, but yes, for custom label bottled water the standards become stricter than tap water. A thorough inspection is done by
state government, only after which the “source “of the spring water is certified.  This testifies that the samples analyzed were found to be safe and sanitary, according to the regulations. Origin and processing determines standards of identity.It is a misnomer to categorize all custom label bottled water as spring water. What differentiates bottled water from one another is the origin and processing. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency regulating all types of bottled water has established set guidelines. They are called standards of identity that classify bottled water into several different water types:
1) Spring Water-  A custom label bottled water which is extracted from underground formation where the water flows naturally to the surface of the earth, which is also the exclusive qualification for the tag “spring water.”  Even if water is collected by using external force, the water should be obtained from the same source. This ensures that the quality and taste of the spring water retains.
2) Purified Water- This type of custom label bottled water is attained by purifying process like distillation and decolonization also known as reverses osmosis.These two actions clean water of any dissolved impurities and bacterial growth. Most of the drinking water brands we find in the market are purified drinking water.
3) Mineral Water – This water on the whole contains not less than 250 ppp (parts per million) totally dissolved solids. The mineral base of the water at the source is defined by a constant level and relative proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the source. No additional minerals can be added to personalize water bottles to
tag it as mineral water.
4) Sparkling Bottled Water – This type of water contains same amount of carbon dioxide that it had when it emerged from its source. Sparkling personalized water bottles can also be labeled as sparkling mineral water, sparkling spring water, sparkling drinking water etc.
5) Artesian Water/Artesian Well Water – This type of water comes from a confined aquifer, which is underground water bearing layer made up of sand or rock.
6) Well Water -Obtained from a hole made in the ground to tap the water source.
7) Municipal/Tap Water – Water that is piped into your home from the government water connection.
Tap water does not come under FDA regulation. On the other hand tap water must meet the strict standards of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only then is municipal tap water considered of excellent quality.  However, most people prefer the taste of spring water.They like to enjoy the convenience of personalized water bottles which undergo additional processing and retain the natural characteristics of the water source.