WATER PRODUCTS facts & figures What’s In That Bottle? (NAPSA)—Americans have doubled their consumption of water products in the past decade, purchasing nearly $6 billion of packaged water in 1999. When consumers face a giant wall of water products in the supermarket, however, it can be hard to know what to choose. Reading labels doesn’t always make the selection easier, according to water expert Arthur von Wiesenberger, founder of bottledwaterweb.com. How to choose the best water product? Von Wiesenberger’s advice: source matters. Von Wiesenberger says consumers should pay attention to what the vendor says—or doesn’t say—about the water’s source and its processing. “Some top-selling brands, like Pepsi’s Aquafina or Coca-Cola’s Dasani, process and bottle local tap water,” he said. Companiesthat bottle processed spring water may have multiple sources and mayship their water to anothersite for processing. In contrast, he says, the highest quality water products are bottled directly from one pure source, keeping the natural mineral con- tent intact, such as Trinity Natural Mineral Dietary Supplement’s Trinity Springs in Paradise, Idaho or Evian’s Source Cachet in Evian- Les Bains, France. Most premium water products provide consumers information about their spring source on their product label. Von Wiesenberger points to Trinity as a water prod- uct with a consumer-friendly label. “Consumers can easily read what is in the product and whether it has been disinfected or not,” said von Wiesenberger. For more information on how to evaluate water products, visit www.bottledwaterweb.com. Guide to Water Product Categories Source: Arthur von Wiesenberger, www. bottledwaterweb.com Definition “Whole” Natural Spring One natural spring source Bottled at the source Hinimum processing No disinfection Product Examples TRINITY . Natural Mineral Dietary Supplement Evian Natural Spring Water Fiji ”Disinfected” Artesian or Spring ap” Processing Naturally pure Naturally pure Natural Artesian Water Multiple Processes P Infused Water Product Healthy California Multiple Processes Miracle Sports Water Multiple Processes Sierra Natural Spring Water . Multiple Processes "Highly treated water"from local water supplies +: Aquafina Purified Drinking Water Highly Processed maximum processing and Dasani Purified Water ; Highly Processed Natural spring or artesian sourcels), Often bottling off-site; Moderate fo high levels of processing and disinfection disinfection
