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1992.12.31 :  Bottled Water
              
Contact: Chris Lecos - (202) 205-4144
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December 31, 1992

    The Food and Drug Administration today proposed standard
definitions for various terms used on the labels of bottled water. 
They include the terms "mineral," "spring," "artesian," "well,"
"distilled" and "purified," which are frequently used on the labels
but have had no standard meanings.
    The agency also announced one final rule and two proposals to
establish new limits for approximately 50 chemical and other
contaminants that may be present in bottled water.
    "We want to ensure that bottled water is labeled truthfully," 
Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D.  "If the label says it's
mineral water, it should be mineral water.  If it's from a
municipal water source, the water should be so labeled."
    FDA is responsible for overseeing the safety of bottled water
which, like other foods, must be processed, packaged, shipped and
stored in a safe and sanitary manner and be truthfully and
accurately labeled.  The 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act makes the
Environmental Protection Agency responsible for the safety of
drinking water from public water systems.  This function includes
setting maximum limits for chemical, bacteriological, radiological
and physical contaminants that may be present.
 
     When EPA adds or amends a contaminant standard, FDA also must
adopt a level for it in bottled water or publish in the Federal
Register its reasons for not doing so.  In effect, bottled water
generally must meet EPA's purity and safety requirements for public
drinking water.  FDA had already established quality standards for
31 contaminants.
    The new proposal would define mineral water, which was
previously exempt, as bottled water with at least 250 parts per
million in total dissolved solids.  The water would have to come
from a source "tapped at one or more bore holes or springs,
originating from a geologically and physically protected
underground water source..."  
    Besides including mineral water in the new regulations, the
proposal would also require it and certain types of flavored
bottled waters to comply with the same minimum contaminant or
quality standards required of other bottled waters.  This proposal
is in response to a 1988 petition from the International Bottled
Water Association.
    "We agree with industry on the need to extend bottled water
contaminant standards to mineral water," said Dr. Kessler. 
"Production and sales have increased so dramatically that we think
many consumers may be using it in place of tap water for general
consumption."
    Among the other terms included in the proposal, spring water is
as bottled water obtained from an underground formation from which
water flows naturally to the surface -- or would if it were not
collected underground.  To be identified as spring water on the
label, the water would have to be collected at the spring or
through a bore hole next to the point where it emerges.
     The proposal would continue to exclude products labeled as
"carbonated water," "seltzer water," "soda water" and "tonic
water," which are considered soft drinks.
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