What Is in Spring Water?
Though a dictionary definition of "spring water" would yield that it is water from a naturally occurring small stream of water, the term today has legal and business ramifications. Because of the popularity of bottled water and marketing efforts that try to portray a company's water as "pure" or "natural," the FDA has mandated a colloquial definition of "spring water" as "bottled water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth." Does this Spark an idea?
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Working Definition
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According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) water Standard of Identity, the water at the underground source must be collected at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation that feeds the spring. Water collected with the use of an external force, such as a pumping well, must be from the same stratum as the spring, have all physical properties before treatment, be of the same composition and have the same quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface.
What Is Called "Spring Water" May Not Be
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In addition to the FDA, state, industry and non-governmental agencies, such as the International Bottled Water Association, create and verify water standards regarding what a company can call "spring water." There have been cases in which a company labels water it received from municipal sources as "spring water." Consumer groups and law enforcement agencies are constantly on the lookout for the mislabeling of products.
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FDA Definition
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Because bottled water is a packaged food product, the FDA is in charge of deciding what claims, definitions and terminology can be used. Spring water must adhere to federal food safety, labeling and inspection requirements.
While all drinking water is inspected to ensure that it's safe and free from contaminants, the FDA must verify that the source of the spring water within the ground is not under influence of the surface water, which may contain chemicals.
Bottled Water or Tap?
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The Natural Resources Defense Council cites studies by the government and businesses that state that 25 percent to 40 percent of bottled water is bottled tap water. However, FDA rules allow bottlers to call their product "spring water" if it's brought to the surface using a pumped well and treated with chemicals.
How to Know
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To find where a bottled water comes from and if it is indeed spring water may be difficult. New York and Massachusetts have lists of sources of bottled water, but most states do not.
Check the bottle label and cap. Though it may be called "spring water" or claim to be from a natural source, you may find smaller print that states, "from a municipal source" or "from a community water system." This is tap water, far from any spring.
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