Bottled water blacklist: which brands are hazardous to health?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Bottled water sales in Russia are growing every year. Many people buy bottled water not only in hot weather outside, but also for daily use at home. How not to be mistaken with the choice? Roskontrol experts chose 12 popular brands of drinking and mineral water for prices ranging from 20 to 150 rubles. The "tests" were attended by brands that are also sold in Sochi.

At the very first stage, Roskontrol experts were in for unpleasant surprises. The most important indicator of the safety of drinking water is the content of microorganisms. In some samples, their permissible amount is exceeded by 70 times! This means that the parties can easily contain dysentery sticks, salmonella and other dangerous microorganisms and viruses. For non-compliance with safety requirements, these brands of water are included in Roskontrol's "black list".

In some brands, the permissible amount of nitrates and nitrites is significantly exceeded, including quite expensive brands. Most likely, the water was taken not far from industrial enterprises, treatment facilities, collective farms or farms. Moreover, the water clearly lay on the surface or at a shallow depth.

Experts found in the supposedly pure water a bunch of unnecessary trash: ammonium ions, permanganate oxidizability. Exceeding the norms for these indicators suggests that gasoline, kerosene, phenols, pesticides and other harmful substances could have got into the water.

But the declared useful micro- and macroelements, on the contrary, were not counted. Some samples were almost free of calcium and magnesium. With the constant use of such water, there will be a deficiency of the corresponding substances in the body. Which in turn will lead to various health problems. And this, judging by the tests, is quite likely, because the sales of bottled water in Russia are growing every year. Many people buy it not only in hot weather outside, but also for daily use at home.

Bottled water "Shishkin Les", Bonaqua, "Holy Spring", Evian, "Lipetsk pump room", Cristaline, Vittel, "Prosto Azbuka", Nestle Pure Life, Aparan, Aqua Minerale, "D (Dixie)" …

Below is a table of test results and a rating of samples for safety, naturalness, usefulness and taste.

Test results:

1. Non-carbonated drinking water "D" (Dixie)

The water that is produced in the Nizhny Novgorod region by order of the Dixy trading network is recognized by experts as the most useful. She has an ideal composition for the content of micro- and macroelements.

from 12 RUB for 1 liter

2. Vittel mineral still

Vittel non-carbonated mineral

Mineral water Vittel produced in France was recognized as natural and safe according to the results of the examination. Its disadvantages include a low fluorine content.

from 63 RUB for 1 liter

3. Evian mineral still

Evian mineral still

Evian water meets all safety requirements - no microbes, nitrates or other harmful constituents were found in it. But there are more useful elements - calcium and magnesium - than in other tested samples.

from 84 RUB for 1 liter

4. "Lipetsk Byuvet" non-carbonated drinking water

"Lipetsk Byuvet" non-carbonated drinking water

This water turned out to be the tastiest of the samples tested. But according to the results of laboratory tests "Lipetsk pump room" is far from being the leader: in terms of total mineralization and fluorine content, the water falls short of the norm of physiological usefulness.

from 16 RUB for 1 liter

5. Aqua Minerale non-carbonated drinking

Aqua Minerale non-carbonated drinking

Aqua Minerale water can be considered safe, but not healthy: it contains absolutely no calcium and magnesium. At the same time, rather high values of the content of these elements are indicated on the label.

from 32 RUB for 1 liter

6. Nestle Pure Life non-carbonated drinking

Nestle Pure Life non-carbonated drinking

Nestlé water label states that it is deep purified water. Indeed, it was cleaned of harmful substances well, but, unfortunately, during cleaning, there were much less useful elements in it.

from 25 RUB for 1 liter

7. "Prosto Azbuka" non-carbonated drinking

"Prosto Azbuka" non-carbonated drinking

The beautiful words on the label of this water - "pure water", "ideal for cooking", "does not form scale" - turned out to be only partially true. There will indeed be little scale from this water: there is too little calcium and magnesium in it, but you definitely cannot call it the purest: the number of microbes in this water exceeds the norm by 70 times.

from 14 RUB for 1 liter - Black list

8. "Shishkin Les" non-carbonated drinking

"Shishkin Les" still drinking

The sample is blacklisted for defrauding consumers. Water "Shishkin Les" does not correspond to the first category indicated on the label in terms of the content of macronutrients. It is safe when consumed occasionally, but it can be harmful to health if consumed every day.

from 17 RUB for 1 liter - Black list

9. Bonaqua non-carbonated drinking

Bonaqua non-carbonated drinking

Drinking water under the Bonaqua brand does not meet safety requirements: an examination showed that the source of water supply from which it is obtained could be contaminated with wastewater

from 23 RUB for 1 liter - Black list

10. Cristaline non-carbonated drinking

Cristaline still drinking

The sample revealed numerous violations of the requirements for water of the highest category. The complex toxicity indicator (the sum of nitrates and nitrites) was exceeded 40 times.

from 40 RUB for 1 liter - Black list

11. Aparan still drinking

Aparan still drinking

Armenian water Aparan is unsafe: the number of microorganisms in it is 3.5 times higher than the norm, and the number of nitrates is 2 times higher than allowed for water of the highest category.

from 49 RUB for 1 liter. Black list

12. "Holy Spring" non-carbonated drinking

"Holy Spring" still drinking

This water is unsafe for health: it has exceeded the organic pollution index. Also, the label contains inaccurate data on the composition of micro- and macroelements.

From 18 rubles. for 1 liter. - Black list.

Safety

At the very first stage of the research, the experts were in for unpleasant surprises. The most important indicator of the safety of drinking water is the content of microorganisms in it. In the water "Prosto Azbuka", which is produced in the Stavropol Territory by order of the trade network "Azbuka Vkusa", the number of microbes is 70 times higher than the permissible standard.

Also, according to this indicator, Aparan water (made in Armenia) was recognized as unsafe; it contains 3.5 times more microorganisms than the norm.

This level of microbial contamination speaks of the general disadvantage of the water supply source. This means that the next batch of water "Prosto Azbuka" or Aparan can easily contain dysentery sticks, salmonella and other dangerous microorganisms and viruses. For non-compliance with safety requirements, the aforementioned brands of water are included in the "black list" of Roskontrol

In addition to bacteria, Aparan water contains nitrates - twice the norm. The complex indicator of toxicity (the sum of nitrates and nitrites) is 40 times higher in expensive French water Cristaline.

Nitrite gets into the water source from waste water and is an indicator of the so-called "organic pollution". Most likely, the water was taken from places located near industrial enterprises, sewage treatment facilities, collective farms or farms, and the water clearly lay on the surface or at a shallow depth (experts use the term “horizons insufficiently protected from water penetration from surface runoff”).

Experts have identified several more indicators of water pollution - the content of ammonium ions and permanganate oxidizability. Exceeding the norms for these indicators suggests that gasoline, kerosene, phenols, pesticides and other harmful substances could have got into the water. According to the test results, the safety requirements do not meet the Bonaqua and Holy Spring brands, and the Cristaline water, although safe, does not meet the increased requirements declared by the manufacturer, who marked it as the highest category water.

How could this happen? Why is even the water, which says "artesian" and the numbers of the wells, is contaminated? Shouldn't producers be cleaning it?

Rufina Mikhailova, MD, DSc, Head of the Laboratory for Hygiene of Drinking Water Supply and Sanitary Protection of Water Bodies, Scientific Research Institute of Human Ecology and Environmental Hygiene named after A. N. Sysina:

“Any water goes through a preparation stage before packaging. There are many water purification technologies - depending on the initial water quality. The only requirement is that chlorine should not be used to disinfect water intended for bottling. If the water is initially close to ideal, and the indicators are exceeded only for a few elements, simple filters are used.

The most common technology is "reverse osmosis". It allows you to obtain sterile, ideally clean water - special membrane filters trap all impurities, guaranteeing a stable quality of purified water. But here the opposite effect also arises - unfortunately, with too thorough purification, the water loses not only harmful, but also useful substances. In terms of its properties, such water is close to distilled”.

All water samples were also tested for the content of toxic elements - mercury, lead, arsenic, aluminum and others: there is no excess in the content of these substances in any water.

Quality

The value of drinking water is determined by micro and macro elements, about 50 substances in total. For humans, there is a certain physiological norm for the amount and composition of mineral salts dissolved in water. Almost all bottled water labels indicate the total mineralization level. From the point of view of daily water consumption, the optimal level is 200–500 mg / l. With drinking water, a person can get up to 20% of the daily intake of calcium, up to 25% of magnesium, up to 50-80% of fluorine, and up to 50% of iodine.

The examination showed that there is almost no calcium and magnesium in the water "Shishkin Les" and "Aqua Mineral", the lack of fluorine in the water of Bonaqua, "Holy Spring", "Lipetsk pump room" and even in expensive water Evian and Vittel. With the constant use of such water, there will be a deficiency of the corresponding substances in the body. Recall that a lack of fluoride causes caries, calcium - osteoporosis and reduced bone density (and, as a consequence, a tendency to fractures, and in children - a violation of skeletal formation), magnesium - problems with the heart and nervous system.

In the water "Shishkin Les" the content of bicarbonates is exceeded, according to this indicator the water does not correspond to the first category declared on the label.

According to doctors, drinking water with a high bicarbonate content is not recommended for people with chronic kidney disease, incl. with the formation of stones, as well as people with reduced gastric acid secretion.

According to the results of our tests, water from Evian, Vittel, Nestle Pure Life, Aqua Minerale, "D" (Dixie) and "Lipetsk pump room" was recognized as safe. The optimal composition (in terms of the content of minerals and trace elements) - in drinking water "D" (Dixie). She, by the way, is the cheapest of the tested samples.

The tastiest to the participants of the tasting were the Lipetsk pump-room water (which lacks useful elements) and the French water Evian and Vittel (which contain sufficient amounts of calcium and magnesium, but no fluoride at all).