Safety and Secrecy of Bottled Water

The bottled water industry is the second largest commercial beverage category by volume in the U.S. Nearly all bottled water sold in the US is sourced domestically. Only approximately two percent of the total volume is comprised of imported bottled water. This book evaluates the extent to which FDA regulates and ensures the quality and safety of bottled water, evaluates the extent to which federal and state authorities regulate the accuracy of labels and identifies the environmental and other impacts of bottled water. To address these objectives, the authors reviewed relevant FDA documents, policies and guidelines as well as related laws and regulations pertinent to the oversight of bottled water at the federal and state levels, and analyzed data from the FDA databases and track inspections, import examinations and recalls. Bottled water labels were also examined and companies were contacted to determine the information they provide to customers. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.