About Us
Water
The soft drinks industry provides consumers with choice based on grounds of taste, price and convenience. Bottled water is not a replacement for tap water but an alternative that consumers might like to choose on some occasions.
There are three main types of bottled waters as defined in the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations 2007.
Only products which meet the specifications within these regulations may use one of these terms.
Natural mineral water
Natural mineral waters are one of the most popular types of bottled water. They must come from a protected source and by law may not undergo any treatment except filtration to remove sand particles or the addition of carbon dioxide to create a sparkling product. Therefore what goes into the bottle is the same as what comes out of the ground.
All natural mineral waters have a mineral analysis on the label so that consumers can know exactly what they are drinking. Natural mineral waters must be officially recognised through a local authority after a qualifying period of two years, during which time it is repeatedly analysed. It must also be registered with the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Spring water
Spring waters can come from a single non-polluted ground water source. Unlike natural mineral waters, spring waters may undergo permitted treatments in order to meet the microbiological criteria and to comply with standards based on the Drinking Water Regulations. Unlike natural mineral waters there is no formal recognition process required for spring water although they must still be registered with the local authority.
Table water
Table water applies to bottled water which may come from more than one source and may include the public water supply. Treatment is permitted which results in the water achieving the compositional or microbiological requirements of the regulations. Some companies may also add mineral salts to their waters to replace those minerals lost during treatments or to enhance those which already exist.