Water – in all its forms – is a vital component of the human diet.
It’s also one of the healthiest beverage options on the retailer’s shelf, and should therefore be included with sunscreen and a hat in any basket or sports bag making its way to a beach, a park, a picnic spot or a sports ground this summer.
This is the message from South African National Bottled Water Association CEO, Charlotte Metcalf.
Read original article here: South Coast Herald
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“Sensible travellers and holidaymakers will ensure their suitcases contain sun screens and hats to protect them and their families from the summer sun, and water to slake their thirst and fend off dehydration,” she said.
Water is the healthiest beverage option for societies plagued by diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
And, when you can’t get to a tap bottled water is the best packaged beverage option for the environment, as it has the lightest environmental footprint of all packaged beverages
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“Bottled water does not compete against tap water for share of mouth in South Africa, but is offered as a healthy beverage alternative. It competes against other beverages such as cold drinks and flavoured milks on the shelves of supermarkets, forecourt convenience stores and cafés,” she said.
Image: Pixabay
Metcalf added that holidaymakers should not fall prey to the misconceptions or myths about bottled water.
Myth 1: Either tap or bottle, never both
One of the biggest mistakes is assuming that people drink bottled water in place of tap water, which is not the case. Industry research in the US shows most people who drink bottled water also drink tap water, and they choose accessible, calorie-free bottled water as an alternative to less healthy packaged drinks when they can’t get to a tap.
Myth 2: Bottled water is not necessarily pure
In terms of South African legislation, bottled water is ‘water packaged for human consumption’ and it is therefore classified as a foodstuff. This means it is overseen by the Department of Health. Legislation and standards for bottled water in South Africa are far stricter than those for municipal water.
Image: Pixabay
Myth 3: Most bottled water is simply tap water
South African legislation provides for three categories of bottled water:
· natural water (obtained directly from a natural or drilled underground source, bottled near the source under hygienic conditions)
· water defined by origin (from a specific environmental source such as a spring without passing a community water system)
· prepared water (usually from a municipal source but having undergone additional antimicrobial treatment as well as treatment that alters the original physical or chemical properties of the water).
Less than 15% of bottled water in South Africa starts as tap water; over 80% is from renewable underground sources and sources that would otherwise go untapped. In other words, over 80% is either natural water or water defined by origin. The presence of the SANBWA logo on a bottle is a seal of quality and ensures that the water in that bottle is what it claims to be.
Myth 4: The bottled water industry is a poor user of our water resources
Bottled water production in South Africa is actually a very water-efficient business, in that it has an extremely low ‘water usage’ factor. The South African bottled water industry benchmark is 1,8:1, and there are plants that achieve ratios of as low as 1,3:1–1,4:1 by recycling their bottle rinse water.
Myth 5: PET leaches carcinogenic substances
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is mainly used to produce soft drink and water bottles, but is also used to produce plastic jars, containers, trays and clamshell packaging. It is approved as safe for food and beverage contact by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and similar regulatory agencies throughout the world, and has been for over 30 years.
