NCL brochure offers facts about bottled water

The National Consumers League (NCL) released a new brochure today to help consumers understand what's in their bottled water.

Oct. 2, 2001

2 min read

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2001 — The National Consumers League (NCL) released a new brochure today to help consumers understand what's in their bottled water. "Bottled Water: What You Should Know" explains how the products are regulated, labeled, and treated, as well as the importance of hydration, the different types of bottled water, and who is responsible for ensuring its safety and quality.

"Consumers want to know where the water comes from," said Linda F. Golodner, NCL president. "They want to know how it's regulated. Bottom line is, they want to know what they are buying."

Highlights from Bottled Water: What You Should Know

* While the Environmental Protection Agency regulates tap water, the Food and Drug Administration regulates bottled water. FDA requires uniform use of terms like "purified" and "spring," so consumers can be sure different companies use the same descriptions consistently on their product labels. For example, a bottle marked "spring water" must be from a spring.

* Because it is regulated by FDA as a packaged food product, bottled water products must include consumer contact information on the label so consumers can get brand-specific information from the bottler, distributor, or packer.

For a copy of the brochure, consumers send a self-addressed stamped business envelope to NCL, 1701 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, or visit http://www.nclnet.org/food/bottledwater .

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to identify, protect, represent, and advance the economic and social interests of consumers and workers. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization.