Bottled Water Regulation

FDA proposes changes in bottled water regulation

9/23/2008 4:20:24 PM

WASHINGTON — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed changes to its bottled water regulations regarding E. coli that will make them at least as protective of public health as those of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to a September 22 article in Occupational Health and Safety. In 2006 the EPA required the FDA to choose between issuing a new standard of quality regulation regarding fecal coliform or declaring that such a regulation was not necessary by December 1, 2009. This ultimatum was given after the Center for Disease Control traced 68 waterborne disease outbreaks and 10,926 illnesses over a nine year period to source water contamination and inadequate treatment, according to the article. In its proposed regulations, the FDA says it will: ● Require that source water be tested specifically for total coliform. ● Require that bottled water manufacturers test for Escherichia coli (E. coli) if source water or finished bottled water products test positive for coliform. ● Prohibit source water containing E. coli from being used in the production of bottled water. ● Require bottlers to keep records of actions taken to eliminate E. coli. The entire text of the proposed rule is available at the link below. To view the full article, click here. To access the proposed rule, click here. For related information on this story, click here.

How to Choose a Filter

Bottled Water Ban?

Nestlé: Bottled water ban could threaten 100 jobs

9/9/2008 4:47:44 PM

WATERLOO, ONTARIO — Waterloo Region officials may soon vote to ban the sale of bottled water in regional government facilities, according to a September 9 article in the Guelph Mercury. According to Statistics Canada data shown in the article, the municipally supplied water is not the most popular beverage straight out of the tap. Although 41 percent of Waterloo households reported in 2006 that they filter the municipally supplied water to improve appearance, taste or color, officials are standing by the water’s quality. “Our tap water is very good quality,” Councillor Jane Mitchell said in the article. “If we’re selling bottled water in our buildings, what are we saying to the public?” Proponents of the ban also say that drinking tap water will reduce the plastic bottle waste that accumulates in blue recycling bins. Nestlé Waters Canada argues that a ban would not reduce such waste, but would encourage citizens to replace bottled water with more sugary bottled beverages. Nestlé Waters Canada also said in the article that the ban on bottled water could threaten the future security of about 100 local jobs at Nestlé. There are no environmental concerns caused by commercial bottling in the region. Nestlé has offered to help promote plastic recycling, according to the article. To view the full article, click here. For related information on this story, click here.

Wall Street Journal Article

Check out Kinetico's inclusion in The Wall Street Journal's article:

"What's Coming From Your Tap?"

Quote of Note:

Last April, Elizabeth Beyer, 47, purchased a Kinetico Inc. K5 Drinking Water Station for her father, who had a liver transplant in February. Doctors had advised him to drink only filtered water. The system, which cost $2,100, is meant to remove contaminants ranging from lead to chlorine sediment using reverse-osmosis technology and two additional filters.

Ms. Beyer, who lives in Venice, Fla., says it was worth it. Her water is clearer and crisper. "I can definitely taste the difference," she says. "You can see the difference."

Response to an Article

Tap Water - The Ugly Truth About Tap Water

Veronica O'Dea

The 20th Century lead us to many solutions to water borne disease; chlorine disinfection having helped immensely in this regard. The same time frame left us with an unfortunate plethora of complicated and potentially dangerous combinations of leftover chlorine residuals, sanitizers, pharmaceuticals, organics, pesticides and other chemicals in our water supplies.

An article written by Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard of the AP on 3/10/2008 stated: ... "In a five-month inquiry, AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking-water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky. Denver was among them." ...... "• Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds."

After researching what drugs were found and what remedies could reduce the threat it was discovered that RO membranes such as those utilized in Kinetico’s home water treatment systems have been proven to block molecular compounds having a molecular weight of 100 g/mol or greater. This group includes many of the pharmaceuticals discovered in United States’ drinking water supplies. In addition, a secondary charge-related separation process provided by RO has been shown to repel some contaminants smaller than 100 g/mol.

The discussion on reverse osmosis/ vs. filtered is one that is often misconstrued. Reducing potential hazards in our drinking water is on the mind of many and justifiably so. The following is the "Conclusion" of a paper published by the Water Quality Association's Science Advisory Committee. It may clear up some of the concerns over drinking a safer, higher quality water on a daily basis...

Conclusion

"It has been concluded that the consumption of low TDS water, naturally occurring or received from a treatment process, does not result in harmful effects to the human body. This is based on the following points: 1) No public organization with authority over the drinking water quality anywhere in the world has enacted or even proposed a minimum requirement for total dissolved minerals in drinking water. 2) The human body's own control mechanism (homeostasis) regulates the mineral content of the body fluids and the discharge of different types of ions from the body of normal, healthy individuals whether drinking low or high mineral content. 3) Several types of scientific literature searches have found no harmful effects to the human body attributable to the consumption of low TDS water. 4) Many examples of real-world situations exist in which large populations have been and continue to be provided with exclusively low TDS water without and reported unusual or ill health effects, establishes the safety of consuming such waters by human beings."

A link to the entire paper is:

http://www.wqa.org/pdf/Consumer%20Briefs/LowTDS.pdf

We know that trace minerals can be important to our health, however, I personally prefer to reduce by up to 95%, most of the potential hazards from my drinking water through the use of a Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System and depend on a healthy diet and supplement regimen for the nutritional health of my family.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on such an important topic as Water and our Health.

Sincerely,

John L Rickert
Certified Water Specialist, VI
President
Colorado Water Quality Association

www.kineticodenver.com

PS: I feel this is an important enough topic that either a retraction or a correction should be published regarding the original article from: http://www.triplecrownnewsletters.com/member/story.php?id=6136#post
I am available for further discussion and/or clarifications at 303-934-8101.

We Are Moving!

As of September 1, 2008 we will officially be doing business from a new location. Please take note that our new location is:

Advantage Water LLC
dba Kinetico of Denver / Front Range
1113 Kimbark St Unit A
Longmont, CO 80501

All of our other contact information will remain the same:

Phone: (303) 934-8101
Toll Free: (866) 688-WATER
Fax: (303) 350-4772
Email: purewater@kineticodenver.com
Web: www.kineticodenver.com