surprised?
Associated Press
Published on: 07/27/07
NEW YORK — So you thought that water in your Aquafina bottle came from some far-away spring bubbling deep in a glen?
Try the tap.
PepsiCo Inc. is the latest company to offer some clarity about the source of its top-selling bottled water as it announced on Friday it would change the label on Aquafina water bottles to spell out that the drink comes from the same source as tap water.
A group called Corporate Accountability International has been pressuring bottled water sellers to curb what it calls misleading marketing practices. The group has criticized PepsiCo over its blue Aquafina label with a mountain logo as perpetuating the misconception that the water comes from spring sources.
Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled "P.W.S." The new labels will spell out "public water source."
"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," PepsiCo spokeswoman Michelle Naughton said Friday. Aquafina water is taken from public sources then purified in a seven-step process.
The corporate accountability group is also pressing for similar concessions from The Coca-Cola Co., which owns the Dasani water brand, and Nestle Waters North America, seller of Nestle Pure Life purified drinking water, which gets some of its water from municipal sources.
Dasani's Web site says that Dasani comes from local water supplies, is filtered using a process called reverse osmosis and enhanced with minerals.
"We don't believe that consumers are confused about the source of Dasani water," Coca-Cola spokeswoman Diana Garza Ciarlante said. "The label clearly states that it is purified water."
Sales of bottled water has been a growing source of revenue for companies such as PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., and Atlanta-based Coca-Cola as they lessen their dependence on sales of traditional carbonated sodas, as consumer concern over health issues has weakened demand.
Nestle said Friday it has been printing new labels for its Pure Life water that say whether the water comes from municipal supplies or ground water, and the labels will begin showing up later this year. Pure Life is the only Nestle bottled water that uses public water sources and the company did not have an estimate for how much of its supply originates from the tap.
Wholesale sales of bottled water grew to $11 billion in 2006, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp., and the industry is expected to maintain growth rates of about 10 percent. The fastest growing segment of the industry is sales of bottles of less than 1.5 liters, which includes the individual serving sizes sold in many convenience and grocery stores.
The decisions by Nestle and PepsiCo come as criticism grows over environmental concerns about the industry's use of local water sources as well as consumption of resin and energy to package and ship the bottles.
Last month alone, a barrage of news hit the industry: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom banned city-funded purchases of bottled water; New York City launched an ad campaign called "Get Your Fill" to promote the benefits of tap water; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution to bring attention to the importance of public water systems and the negative impact of bottled water.
"I think it's unfortunate we have gotten into this tap water vs. bottled water debate," the CEO of the International Bottled Water Association, Joe Doss, said. "I do not think consumers are uniformly replacing tap water with bottled water."
PepsiCo shares fell 55 cents to $66.29 in afternoon trading Friday amid a broad market pullback.
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18 comments:
It may come from public water sources but it goes through other processes. Tap water taste like the chemicals used to treat the water. That's exactly what people want to get away from. They don't like the taste. So what's the big deal. Water is water, just some of it taste better.
All the time these folk thought they were getting some water from a source far, far, away. That is funny, kinda like the olde time Snake Oil Salesman.
Any thing is better than Barnesville's pond scum water. It turns my filters black and slimy.
The same thing was uncovered in the UK about 3 to 4 years ago and people tried to sue but they couldn't because the label never once said it was from a fresh spring or any other source. Just highly filtered tap water.
ATTENTION-
BREAKING NEWS:
The Democraps Socialist Party has came out and placed the blame on George Bush for this rescent scandal saying, "Bush said there would be WMD (Water Made for Drinking) but we found no such thing, just water from a tap which has been filtered. This Administration is to blame and heads are going to roll!"
This fiasco was followed by Senator Obama giving his sympathy for the people who have suffered and expressing that in his first term in office he will snap his majic fingers and create more natural springs for bottling water and everyone will get to drink it because it will be free. Senator Clinton followed him by saying the EXACT same thing but adding "More taxes would have stopped this" and then, "I am a black woman!". The last quote is thought to be the only thing she could think of at the time that would make her seem more interesting than Sen. Obama.
Reporting to you live-
Rev. MJB
i like my well water
I wonder what the contaminate distribution is in the water. We always get that report on the Barnesville water in the Gazette
Well, I still prefer the taste to that of good old Barnesville tap water. The tap water turns my refrigerator filteration system black, too.
Look at your clothes after you wash them with b'vlle water imagine what it does to your insides. I drink bottled water and it's a lot better then b'ville water,TASTE GREAT!!
After living in Barnesville for a few months, I asked several people why my tap water has a faint yellow tint. I was told, "Oh, that's just Barnesville water." Also, I asked one of the workers at McDonalds why their water was not clear. She gave the very same answer, "Oh, that's just Barnesville water." There are new pipes in my house; so, I am very concerned about the color of our water. And, yes I have reported this to City Hall; yet, my water still is yellow.
Maybe that Ms Ginn Lady needs to be back on the council...at least people knew what was going on, if anything, and I do remember her working to clean up the city.
You asked the workers at mc donalds why their water was not clear? thats like asking an ant to be an astronaut! They get pissed off if you expect them to put the rite hamburger in the bag.Ray charels could teach you more about driving then they could about clean water. minimum wage brings out the verry best.
Barnesville water has been going downhill in quality for the past 10 years. Soon you will not even be able to wash your clothes in it.
How do you know Aquafina is not Barnesville water? Barnesville and the county is putting pipes all over the county, and who knows where else. Hmmmmmmmm
Yeah they are running water lines all over the county and pretty soon will not allow you to dig your own or bore your own well. It will be madatory for you to hook up to the city water lines. I have replaced my filters twice since having city water and I can truly say that the way those old filters looked and smelled would gag a buzzard.
They always say B'ville water is safe to drink. Safe and healthy must be two different things because that swill can't be healthy for you.
I'm not sure why this was a newsworthy event since nowhere on the labels of Aquafina, Dasani or Pure Life did they ever claim to be spring water. The ingredients stated "purified water".
Perhaps if Americans were willing to read...
are they going to print this in spanish, arabic, hindu and ebonics?
(gonna need a bigger bottle)
water sucks anyway! DRINK MORE BEER!
The single biggest problem we have facing the United States today is the Liberal Democrat. They will be the downfall of this great nation.
Signed,
A Conservative Republican
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