A Guide to Commercially-Bottled Water and Other Beverages
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If you drink commercially-bottled water, read the label and look for this information.
COMMERCIALLY-BOTTLED DRINKING WATER LABELING INFORMATION |
|
|---|---|
Water so labeled has been processed by a method effective against Crypto |
Water so labeled MAY NOT have been processed by a method effective against Crypto |
Reverse osmosis treated |
Filtered |
Distilled |
Micro-filtered |
Filtered through an absolute 1 micron or smaller filter |
Carbon-filtered |
"One micron absolute" |
Particle-filtered |
Multimedia-filtered |
|
Ozonated |
|
Ozone-treated |
|
Ultraviolet light-treated |
|
Activated carbon-treated |
|
Carbon dioxide-treated |
|
Ion exchange-treated |
|
Deionized |
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Purified |
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Chlorinated |
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Commercially-bottled water labels reading "well water," "artesian well water," "spring water," or "mineral water" do not guarantee that the water does not contain Crypto. However, commercially-bottled water that comes from protected wells or protected springs is less likely to contain Crypto than water from less protected sources, such as rivers and lakes. Any bottled water (no matter what the source) that has been treated by one or more of the methods listed in the left column in the table above should be safe.
Other Beverages
Soft drinks and other beverages may or may not contain Cryptosporidium (Crypto) parasites. You need to know how they were prepared to know if they might contain Crypto.
If you drink prepared drinks, look for drinks prepared in a manner that removes Crypto:
PREPARED BEVERAGES AND CRYPTO RISK |
|
|---|---|
Drinks that ARE safe |
Drinks that may NOT be safe |
Carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles |
Fountain drinks |
| Commercially-prepared fruit drinks in cans or bottles | Fruit drinks you mix with tap water from frozen concentrate |
Steaming hot (175 degrees F or hotter) tea or coffee |
Iced tea or iced coffee |
Pasteurized drinks |
|
Juices made from fresh fruit can also be contaminated with crypto. For example, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred in Ohio whereby several people became ill after drinking apple cider made from apples contaminated with Crypto. You may wish to avoid unpasteurized juices or fresh juices if you do not know how they were prepared.
This information is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care provider. If you have any questions about the disease described above or think that you may have a parasitic infection, consult a health care provider.
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Page last reviewed: April 16, 2008
Content Source: Division of Parasitic Diseases (DPD)
National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (ZVED)