Bottled water rating: quality indicators. What is the best quality water? High-quality bottled water

It is known that for proper metabolism and normal functioning of the body, an adult should drink 2 to 3 liters of water per day. Information about the quality of tap water completely discourages the desire to comply with this recommendation, so more and more Russians prefer bottled water.

19 liters of health

Making the right choice among bottled water companies is not that easy. Manufacturers compete fiercely with each other, so they often resort to marketing tricks. A beautiful label often hides ordinary tap water that has undergone a deep purification process. If there is no information about the origin of the water, then most likely the water is not natural, and the required content of trace elements and minerals is achieved by technology using various physical and chemical methods.

There are dozens of companies engaged in the production and sale of bottled water on the St. Petersburg market. Prices vary in a very wide range - from 150 rubles/bottle (Sosnovskaya Tsarina drinking water) to 610 rubles/bottle (Klyuchevaya Premium water, Polustrovo). It should be understood that cheap water, as a rule, is purified tap water. For example, artesian physiologically complete drinking water “Aqualine Natural Premium” in high-quality polycarbonate containers costs only 250 rubles per bottle. For an objective rating water in St. Petersburg bottles require reliable data based on the results of independent examinations, which are carried out either at the request of the manufacturer or based on consumer complaints, so for most brands such information is simply not available. However, on thematic forums and review sites you can find a lot of useful information on the basis of which you can form a consumer rating of water in 19-liter bottles.

Taking into account the price ratio, service, label information and the number of reviews, the TOP 5 rating of drinking water in St. Petersburg is as follows*:

1. Artesian water Aqualine
2. Arkhyz mineral water
3. Nestlé deep purified drinking water
4. Artesian water Spring Land
5. Water Rosinka Polustrovo

The quality of water in 19-liter bottles is significantly influenced by the process of preparing and washing the container. No matter how clean the water from an artesian well is, poor handling of returnable containers can cause serious microbiological contamination. And the key factor in this matter is the container itself, or rather the material from which it is made. The most common due to its low cost are PET containers (if the container is dark blue, then it is definitely PET). But the best option is containers made of polycarbonate (an artificial glass substitute). Polycarbonate containers are several times more expensive than PET, but they are absolutely safe and can withstand the most thorough sanitary treatment, unlike PET containers, which lose their consumer properties after just a few turns.

Systematic long-term consumption of drinking water, the composition of which differs significantly from the recommended one, increases the risk of the occurrence and progression of certain diseases. It is most useful with optimal indicators of general mineralization, hardness and microelements content, ensuring the stability of the water-salt balance in the body and the normal functioning of organs and systems.

* Important:The information is current at the time of publication and may be changed as new information becomes available.

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It would seem that it would be simpler - go to the store, buy the first couple of bottles of water you come across - and drink to your health! But in reality, everything is a little more complicated. Even the most beautiful label and high price do not guarantee the quality of water. We tried to understand all the nuances of this issue and now we know exactly what we will drink this summer.

Mineral or drinking?

A significant portion of bottled drinking water is produced from regular tap water. It differs from the one that flows in your apartment only in that it undergoes additional processing. In particular, all salts are completely removed from it, and then enriched with useful minerals. Sanitary rules allow you to do this. According to our experts, the quality of drinking water on Russian shelves is generally satisfactory. If you don’t know which one to choose, they recommend buying those brands that are, as they say, well-known. Well-known brands, as a rule, have a strict quality control system in production.

Mineral water, unlike drinking water, is bottled directly from a well. It is not heavily purified and the chemical composition is not changed. Only aeration, filtration, degassing, carbonation, as well as treatment with certain preservatives are allowed. It is believed that such water is the richest in nutrients. But for the same reason, it cannot meet strict safety standards for ordinary drinking water. Only table mineral waters are suitable for daily consumption, not medicinal mineral waters.

Don’t think that the best water is necessarily brought from afar. Those that are mined, say, in the Moscow region, are also good in composition

How to read the label?

Best before date. Water can also spoil. In glass bottles it is stored for up to 2 years, in plastic bottles - 18 months. Look at the bottling date and do the math.

Chemical and physical analysis. How many and what elements are contained in water? The label must have a table with numbers.

Mineral or drinking? The label of natural underground water always indicates the number of the well from which it was taken. If the bottle is filled with water from the central water supply system, this is also recorded in the labeling, either explicitly or implicitly. For example, like this: “water from the central water supply system of city X.”

Tara. Glass is considered the safest. However, it is too heavy to carry around. As for other materials, it is important that the bottle is not made of polyvinyl chloride (labeled as “PVC”). It is extremely toxic.

Roskontrol test: bottled water

"Senezhskaya" (mineral table water), "Bobimex"
Tasty, physiologically complete in macro- and microelement composition. This water contains enough calcium, fluorine, and magnesium. Suitable for regular drinking. There is a slight excess in lithium content, but in mineral water, unlike drinking water, this is acceptable. Confident 1st place. But this is not the only winner.

"Arkhyz" (mineral water), "Arkhyz"

Another leader in our tests. This water does not contain contaminants or heavy metals, and all possible safety indicators are normal. The taste of the contestant is also pleasant, “transparent”. The only thing you can find fault with “Arkhyz” is that there is little fluoride in this water. However, also 1st place.

Nestle Pure Life (drinking water), Nestle
Absolutely safe and tasty water. Indicators of organic pollution are low, no heavy metals were detected. It doesn’t even have color, as it should be for water (other contestants, by the way, do)! Of the serious shortcomings, perhaps only the lack of fluoride can be highlighted. Therefore, an honorable 2nd place.

BonAqua (drinking water), Coca-Cola HBC
The content of ammonium cations in this water is exceeded. This means that organic contaminants have entered the water. It is likely that BonAqua was not cleaned well enough in production and as a result the competitor does not meet safety requirements. The second important disadvantage is the lack of fluoride. 3rd place.

"Shishkin Les" (drinking water), LLC "Shishkin Les"
The total microbial count in water is measured at temperatures of 22°C and 37°C. So, at 22°C in the Shishkiny Les, experts found microbes - 25 times more than expected! The composition also leaves much to be desired. There are no complaints only about the amount of fluoride. 4th place.

Baikal (drinking water), BAIKALSEA company
In this water, when heated to 37°C, the number of microbes is 140 times higher than the maximum permissible standards! A very serious violation. As for the composition, it is also, to put it mildly, not very good. This water is low in calcium, magnesium and fluoride. 5th place.

How much water should you drink per day?

An adult needs 30 ml of water for every kilogram of weight, and for people over 50 years old- 30–35 ml - this is confirmed by medical research.

All our lives our body works according to the principle of a swimming pool from a children's puzzle: water flows into it through one pipes, and flows out through others. The main part of the liquid is excreted, of course, through the kidneys - about 1,5 l per day.
With then leaves 300–600 ml. Almost 400 ml we exhale through the lungs. The two previous consumption graphs increase significantly in the heat, as well as during physical activity. Finally, 200 ml leave through the intestines.

It turns out that per day we need to consume at least 2,5 l!

When calculating your minimum, keep in mind that we not only drink water. It is found in most products (see chapter “Solid form”). From food we get approximately 0.7 ml.–1 l. More 300–400 ml is formed in the body.

For example, when we lose weight, carbon dioxide is released from fat and converted into water: from 100 g of fat turns out 107 g of water (more due to the oxygen added during the reaction).

If you add up all these numbers, it turns out that to maintain balance in the body we need to drink at least 1 l per day, and if you don’t eat soups, then from 1,5 l.

! Most expensive In the world, Fillico Beverly Hills water is produced in Japan and costs $100 per bottle, decorated with Swarovski crystals. It is collected from the Kobe natural spring.

When the amount of water needs to be increased

In some cases, we need to drink more intensely than we are used to.

On days of sports, when visiting a sauna, in hot weather - 30–100% more than usual.

For nursing mothers - by 50–200%.

If you smoke and drink strong alcohol - by 50–70%.

During ARVI or other infection - by 30–50%.

After sex - a couple of glasses of water.

During a diet. The less you eat, the more you need to drink, because the body does not get enough water from foods.

Women need to drink more water per 1 kg of body weight than men

Water in food

The amount of water contained in products.

Vegetables and fruits 80–95%
Milk 88%
Cottage cheese 65–78%
Eggs 74%
Raw fish 75–80%
Raw meat 60–70%
Porridge 60–70%
Cheese 40–50%
Bread 40–45%

Mineral waters: which complex to choose?

■ Glandular contains more than 1 mg of iron per liter.
Recommended for people suffering from iron deficiency anemia.
Contraindicated for those with stomach problems.

Drinking water without gas. Bottled water was studied for almost one hundred quality and safety indicators. Experts studied the microbiological safety of water, compared tap water with mineral water, and also determined the necessary quality characteristics of water to meet human needs.

Laboratory tests were carried out on 58 samples of the most popular brands among Russians, such as Valio, Bon Aqua, Shishkin Les, Aqua Minerale, Kalinov Rodnik, Nestle Pure Life, Svyatoy Istochnik, Evian " and etc.

The overwhelming number of goods were manufactured in Russia, at the same time, products from Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Norway, Finland, and France were also represented in the fan study. The study included products from brands common on the Russian market from about 15 regions of Russia, including the Republic of Tatarstan, Stavropol Territory, Vladimir, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Tula and Ryazan regions.

The testing program included about 100 parameters, including microbiological safety, the presence of harmful impurities, nitrites and artificial preservatives. Also, the leading Roskachest standard for high-quality water, applying for the Russian Quality Mark, established stricter requirements for the content of mineral substances and the physiological usefulness of water.

The first such large-scale study of water from brands on the market in Russia allows us to draw a number of important conclusions and refute common consumer myths.

« As the results of laboratory tests have shown, the quality of water depends on the production capacity of the manufacturer in terms of purification and mineralization of bottled drinking water, and not on the place of origin. The study, unexpectedly for experts, showed that water into which the optimal amount of useful substances was added artificially by the manufacturer during the mineralization of tap water can compete in quality with drinking water from natural sources", notes Deputy Head of Roskachestvo Maria Sapuntsova.

The market today is divided into drinking water of the highest, first categories, as well as mineral water. The status of water of the highest category imposes high requirements on products, which in fact some manufacturers were unable to meet. More often than not, their water was less beneficial for the consumer than required by the mandatory requirements for the highest category. And if practically no problems were found in the first category of drinking water (moreover, this category is more saturated with high-quality products than others), then in the highest category violations were recorded for the vast majority of products. As for mineral water, this category can be called relatively problem-free.

A pleasant fact was the refutation of the opinion of a number of consumers about the frequent presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, nitrites and toxic elements in water - they were not found in any sample.

Experts also concluded that the quality of water in general is not affected by its foreign origin or price. Domestic water is in no way inferior in composition to foreign samples, and often surpasses them in quality.

In addition, the experts decided to compare water of the same brand produced in different regions of Russia (for example, the Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod regions), and did not see any difference in quality characteristics. The experts also purchased the same brand of water in different volumes - 1 and 5 liters - and did not note any differences in quality. Thus, the widespread opinion that manufacturers do not maintain production stability at different sites and use different technologies to produce bottles of different sizes has not been confirmed.

According to the results of large-scale tests, nine products not only met all safety requirements and the standards stated on the packaging, but were also able to reach the leading standards of Roskachestvo.

Samples called high-quality water “Volzhanka”, “Lipetsk Pump Room”, “Novoterskaya”, “Oh! Our Family", "Simple Good", ARCTIC, Aquanika, Bon Aqua and Evian. These samples, with the exception of Evian, can qualify for the state Quality Mark due to their Russian origin.

Another 37 samples out of 58 were considered high-quality goods that fully comply with current legal requirements. However, these goods did not meet the increased requirements of the Roskachestvo standard in one or more indicators, for example, in the content of substances such as potassium, magnesium, iron, iodine and etc., therefore cannot be called high-quality goods.

At the same time, various kinds of violations of current legislation were found in 12 cases. According to test results, only three products out of 58 showed safety deviations. Thus, increased bacterial contamination was detected in three samples (Arkhyz, Elbrus, Biovita). These results were confirmed by the expert opinion of the control and supervisory authority. It is important to note that this problem may be associated with storage or transportation conditions at any stage of the goods movement.

In another 9 cases out of 58, there was a discrepancy with the properties or categories stated on the label. For example, magnesium, calcium or boron contents that did not correspond to the label were found, and in one case “total mineralization” was affected. Considering that manufacturers openly stated on the water labeling a certain amount of macro- and microelements, non-compliance with the declared properties is misleading to consumers.

It is worth noting that “total mineralization” is one of the most important properties of drinking water. Any water, regardless of the brand, water source, method of purification and enrichment with microelements, geography and even the depth of the well, is a unique cocktail of substances called anions and cations (positive and negatively charged ions). For example, cations include potassium, magnesium, iron, and anions include sulfates, fluorine and iodine. The content of these substances is often indicated by the product label, which indicates their percentage.

According to the results of laboratory tests, a relatively low level of total mineralization was recorded in 13 samples out of 31 “first category” drinking water. However, let us remind you that this is water and does not pretend to be useful; it is “enough” for it to be safe. Another thing is that in one of the “highest grade” samples of mineral substances there was only 77 mg/l, while the average median values ​​of other waters in the corresponding category were 200-300 mg/l. Therefore, Roskachestvo specifically established increased requirements for water mineralization for applicants for the state Quality Mark.

Detailed research results for each sample with a list of advantages and disadvantages are available on the portal Roskachestvo .

FOR REFERENCE

Roskachestvo is a national system of monitoring, comparative testing and confirmation of the quality of goods and services, established by order of the Government on the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.

Roskoshestvo conducts regular research on consumer goods. Also, the department, in accordance with the Decree of the Government of Russia, is the operator of the state Quality Mark, issued to the best domestic goods based on the results of research. The research results are published on the portal rskrf.ru .

Over the course of a year and a half, Roskachestvo conducted research on more than 2,500 consumer goods in 60 categories, including food products, light industrial products and goods for children.

Image source: top-cooler.ru

Considering the great response to past publications, we decided to continue the series of articles, one way or another related to the topic of the drinking bottled water market in Russian cities. In this information review, we will examine the issue of drinking water rating in the city of Moscow and the Moscow region, the largest market in Russia, and we will start with such a segment as water packaged in 19 liter bottles. As a rule, companies deliver it directly to apartments and offices, and this water can also be purchased in large chain stores such as Auchan, Metro, Globus and the like; often such products can be found at gas stations.

We will not bore our subscribers with a detailed description of all our actions, as some graphomaniac journalists like to do. Just know that in order to prepare the material it took us about 6 months of painstaking work and several dozen experiments. And so, to the point.

Below we present official data from several non-profit organizations specializing in monitoring the quality of drinking water. The figures were obtained by interviewing respondents, according to the results of anonymous questionnaires made by them on the basis of a detailed studied physical and chemical analysis of samples in accordance with GOST. The voting also took into account the fact of the least amount of consumer complaints and complaints about the quality of a particular product in general.

The following organizations (non-profit*) participated in the quality survey:
– “Rospotrebnadzor”;
– “NK Russian Control”;
– OSPBV (branch of the Union of Manufacturers, Moscow);
– Union for the Protection of Consumers of Goods (Moscow);
– Rossminprom (SP RF).

Please note that the survey was conducted anonymously in order to exclude manipulation by manufacturers to gain commercial interests.
The analysis included the most popular brands in Moscow and the Moscow region, with the names of products falling under the classification “19 liter bottled water” (listed by comma, according to alphabetical order):

Water AVK, AquaAreal, Amelia, Aqualider, Abago, Arkhyzik, Aqua Donbai, Arkhyz, Aquaideal, Aquaflot, ABC of Water, Aquaru, Alexander Key, Barskie Klyuch, Butylkof, Biovita, Bourgeois, Magic Water, Vera, Wave of Baikal, Water Online, Mountain peak, Dear Muscovites, Valley of apple trees, Darzakh, Erinskaya, United, Pearl of the Caucasus, Healthy water, Kara-Su, Kubay, Karachay, Royal water, Legend of the mountains, Bear region, Novoterskaya, Nestlé, Our water, Real water, Oxy, Pilgrim, Pavlovsk springs, Senezhskaya, Holy spring, Senezhskaya, Sofia glacier, Santalovsky spring, Element of life, Holy spring, Staro-Mytishchi spring, Salkovskaya, Semerik, Slavnitsa (var), Make the world kinder, Colored well, Khvalovskaya, Uvinskaya pearl, Filimonovsky spring, Chernogolovskaya, Shishkin Les, Shkolnik, Aeneya, Elbrusinka, Eden 19 liters.

After analyzing the data and checking all the original figures, we received a rating of bottled water for coolers, where the places were placed one by one, according to the aggregate quality criteria. The format of our article does not physically allow us to post the list in full, so we decided to name only the first ten best samples.

1. Water "Santalovsky spring" 19 l.
2. Water “Ulanskaya” 19 l.
3. Water "Arkhyz" 19 l.
4. Water “Holy Spring” 19 l.
5. Water "Karachay" 19 l.
6. Water "Senezhskaya" 19 l.
7. Water "Aleksinskaya" 19 l.
8. Water "Semiruchye" 19 l.
9. Water "Barskie Klyuchi" 19 l.
10. Water "Gornaya Elite" 19 l.

*You can see the full list and transcript of analyzes by going to the portal of water cooler suppliers using the link: official water delivery Arkhyz.

The names are different, but the source is the same. Why are we overpaying?

Also, as part of our small study, we received very interesting side conclusions from inspection organizations. The data obtained indicate that some brands of drinking water are completely identical to each other, that is, in fact, they are the same water under different names. For example, water “Aquaflot” 19 liters, “United”, “ABC of Water”, “Pavlovskie Springs”, “Bourgeois”, “AquaAreal”, “Eneya”, “Slavnitsa”, and “AVK”, with a probability of 99% , obtained from the same source, as they say, bottled from “the same barrel,” or rather, a source located directly in Moscow.

A similar situation was found with other brands from the checked list. So, for example, water “Mountain Top” 19 liters and water “Legend of the Mountains” 19 liters completely coincide with each other both in composition and other organoleptic properties, being essentially one product under different names and water “Legend of the Mountains” differ from “ Mountain Peak" only with an additional 20% surcharge.

Drinking water “Glavvoda 19 liters” is actually bottled in the Moscow region and is drinking water “Semerik”, which has a new name, and unlike Semerik water itself, “GLAVVODA” water 19 liters costs 15-20% more, it turns out that it’s an overpayment It just goes with the label.

We will definitely return to this issue in our next publications and will try to cover in as much detail as possible the problem of price manipulation through deliberate misleading of buyers.

But we received the most interesting conclusion on drinking water from the company “Nestle Pure Life” 19 liters, after renaming it is called “Eden” 19 liters: all experts unanimously claim that this water was obtained from the central water supply system with subsequent conditioning based on the salt composition . This directly indicates the artificial origin of the water composition.

There is also positive news: with the help of these tests, we were able to destroy and dispel the common myth that supposedly all “Caucasian” water is bottled in basements in the Moscow region, and not transported from the Caucasus. Now we have every reason to assert with 100% confidence that everyone’s favorite Arkhyz water 19 liters is extracted specifically in the North Caucasus: its mineral composition, physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics correspond to the declared production region. The same applies to other tested samples of mountain water: “Sofia Glacier”, “Mountain Peak” and “Pilgrim” water, with their microchemical compositions, completely coincide with water that can be obtained exclusively in the region of the Teberda Biosphere Reserve.

For clarification of all indicators, figures and ratings, we decided to contact representatives of the companies included in our rating and among the leaders of the Moscow bottled water market: Vodokhleb LLC, Arkhyz LLC, Vodovoz LLC, Top Water LLC . These comments will become the topic for our next articles, studies and investigations. In the near future, we will prepare new materials from which you can learn how not to fall for the marketing tricks of drinking water manufacturers, we will answer the questions of what truly mountain water is and what water is best to choose for constant use in everyday life, at home and in the office . All the best to you, follow our publications.