[bigboydan]

It just goes to show you that people who buy that bottled water are complete saps.

What's in that bottle?
AQUAFINA | PepsiCo admission it's from tap, not spring, stuns buyers

July 28, 2007
BY VINNEE TONG

Sure, it doesn't actually say on the label that Aquafina water splashes through pristine Alpine valleys, but some parched folks in Chicago were still irked Friday to learn the PepsiCo product is no more exotic than plain tap water.

"That kind of stinks," said Anne Michaud, 47, visiting Chicago from Minneapolis. "They give the implication that it's spring water, and you find out it's tap water."

Michaud stopped by a Walgreens on North Michigan Avenue on Friday to buy another brand of bottled water, but she has been known to drink Aquafina.


Bottles of Pepsi's Aquafina water sit on a shelf next to other brands of bottled water at a Walgreens store.

"I won't anymore," she said. "Shame on them."

PepsiCo Inc. is the latest company to offer some clarity about the source of its top-selling bottled water as it announced 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.

'A reasonable thing to do'
Ida Asner, 33, of Chicago, was not the least bit surprised to learn Friday about the true origin of the water in her Aquafina bottle.

"It tastes like tap water," she said.

So why pay money for it?

"It's convenient, and there are no water fountains nearby that are clean," she said.

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 Dasani comes from local water supplies, is filtered using a process called reverse osmosis and enhanced with minerals.

Environmental impact criticized
"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 have been a growing source of revenue for companies such as PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., and Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, as consumer concern over health issues has weakened demand for traditional carbonated sodas.

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 public sources.

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.

[MonkeyF0cker]

I actually really like Fiji water. Call me what you will, but it tastes better than tap water. I usually only buy bottles of water for jogging or if I'm on the go though...

[bigboydan]

Who's to say that Fiji water isn't tap water too though. I mean if a big corporation like pepsico did it who's to say the others don't do it too.

[MonkeyF0cker]

Well they'd be sure to get sued quick then cuz it says right on the bottle that it comes from Fiji springs and because of that, contains certain minerals that other bottled waters don't...

[pags11]

damn, I buy about a case a month of Aquafina...

[THE HITMAN]

Penn & Teller Bullshit did an excellent piece on this subject last year or so. Can't say I'm surprised and no one else should be either.

[20Four7]

That's why I only buy distilled water. It may have started out as tap water but the distilling process leaves clean pure water. All big corporations basically sell tap water in a bottle it's a huge market.

[Dark Horse]

You can taste the difference.

Some brands are very high quality, others aren't. And the quality can change over time, even for the same brand. I know this, because my colloidal silver machine measures the purity of the water.

[slake]

Jesus, we're talking about frickin' water. Anyone that complains about life not being fair but insists on a particular brand of water is way out of touch.

[MonkeyF0cker]

I've never once complained about the fairness of life. Do I now qualify to drink my Fiji water?

[colt29]

Fiji springs could be the faucet area.

[MonkeyF0cker]

Try one once. You can tell it's not the sewer water you're used to drinking.

[slake]

Originally Posted by MonkeyF0cker

I've never once complained about the fairness of life. Do I now qualify to drink my Fiji water?

Who the hell said I was talking to you anyway?

[dodif]

Originally Posted by MonkeyF0cker

I actually really like Fiji water. Call me what you will, but it tastes better than tap water. I usually only buy bottles of water for jogging or if I'm on the go though...

Same here man. Fiji rules. I heard the owners of Fiji bet boston today.

[LargeMouthBass]

Bottled water myths...

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/heal...bottled-or-tap

[remmy358]

poland spring is the best water by far.

[Ganchrow]

I for one am perfectly happy with my New York City tap water.

[Willie Bee]

We drink filtered tap at the house. Bottled water is merely a convenience, not some health deal or sign of some sort of elite status. Much easier to carry a few bottles of water in a cooler while fishing as opposed to the old canteen on my belt.

[remmy358]

i totally disagree with the thinking that tap water is as good as POLAND SPRING water.

water quality differs by city, they also often add flouride. this water goes through pipes that disentigrate, there is a lot of shit in that water.

poland spring water is from springs in maine and is the best water you can drink - period.

get a glass of your tap water and put it next to a bottle of poland spring, and drink both, and you will never drink tap water again.

[ifellas]

gatorade

[remmy358]

gatorade is good if you are exercising and need to replenish, otherwise its just the same as a soda, high in sugar.

[Ganchrow]

Originally Posted by remmy358

get a glass of your tap water and put it next to a bottle of poland spring, and drink both, and you will never drink tap water again.

Get a refrigerated glass of NYC tap water and a refrigerated glass of Poland Spring water.

Drink both and see if you can taste the difference.

I know I can't.

[remmy358]

i've spent time a lot of time in NYC although ive never had the tap water - i've heard it's good for tap water.

i have buddys who live there who say poland spring is much better.

[Lucas]

it is funny from my point of view that somebody decided to sell water under exclusive brand "poland"
in my country everything that comes from poland or has polish name is considered to be the biggest crap

[Ganchrow]

Originally Posted by remmy358

i've spent time a lot of time in NYC although ive never had the tap water - i've heard it's good for tap water.

i have buddys who live there who say poland spring is much better.

There's a difference between drinking a somwhat cold glass of tap water a nicely packaged ice-cold bottle of Poland and declaring one to be better than the other, versus drinking both waters from identical containers at identical temperatures without knowing which water is which.

This is very similar to the "Grey Goose" effect where an imbiber claims some "premium vodka" (often Grey Goose) plus {name a mixer} to be his "favorite drink of all time", when there's no way in hell he could consistently distinguish between the premium vodka and some cheap gallon-jug vodka.

[remmy358]

i understand what you are saying but in my opinion ive never had anything thats tasted close to poland spring. we all have different taste buds. besides, its not just the taste, its the added chlorine, rusty pipes, and other pollution in the water.

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by remmy358

i understand what you are saying but in my opinion ive never had anything thats tasted close to poland spring. we all have different taste buds. besides, its not just the taste, its the added chlorine, rusty pipes, and other pollution in the water.

yes that is right, also very important factor is storage... if some lazy seller or reseller leaves the packed water in direct sunlight, then the crap rom plastic comes into the nice water... this never happens with tap water, so IMO it can never be as dangerous as bottled /i drink both kind of waters/

[durito]

Coke does the same thing with dasani. The EU tested some a few years ago and found that they had somehow taken prefectly safe tapwater and made it less safe.

Tap water usually tastes like crap imo.

[remmy358]

Originally Posted by Lucas

yes that is right, also very important factor is storage... if some lazy seller or reseller leaves the packed water in direct sunlight, then the crap rom plastic comes into the nice water... this never happens with tap water, so IMO it can never be as dangerous as bottled /i drink both kind of waters/

if it is left in the sun it is horrible..but you can usually taste that i think - at least i can

[MonkeyF0cker]

Originally Posted by Ganchrow

There's a difference between drinking a somwhat cold glass of tap water a nicely packaged ice-cold bottle of Poland and declaring one to be better than the other, versus drinking both waters from identical containers at identical temperatures without knowing which water is which.

This is very similar to the "Grey Goose" effect where an imbiber claims some "premium vodka" (often Grey Goose) plus {name a mixer} to be his "favorite drink of all time", when there's no way in hell he could consistently distinguish between the premium vodka and some cheap gallon-jug vodka.

A "sophisticated" drinker such as myself (one who's probably downed the equivalent of 20 steres of vodka) can definitely tell the difference between a decent potato vodka and a cheap run of the mill grain vodka. However, I'd agree that Grey Goose is generally the exception. It's simply a mid-grade wheat vodka. It ranks right up there with Gordon's in my book.

[Dark Horse]

Unfortunately it is equally bad to freeze bottled water. That killed my idea of marketing 'broken water', which is created by freezing the water until the outer layer is frozen, but the inside is still liquid. By squeezing such a bottle the ice is crunched. In the summer heat it's great to drink bottled water with chunks of ice floating in it!

[MrX]

Now let's take a moment to reflect on how lucky we are to be having a debate on which type of plentiful, clean, parasite and bacteria-free, refrigerated water we prefer.

[Santo]

I drink Evian personally, no other reason than it was the first one I started drinking.

Only exception is when I can get St Nicholas from Cyprus, which I prefer.

[LargeMouthBass]

Originally Posted by Ganchrow

There's a difference between drinking a somwhat cold glass of tap water a nicely packaged ice-cold bottle of Poland and declaring one to be better than the other, versus drinking both waters from identical containers at identical temperatures without knowing which water is which.

This is very similar to the "Grey Goose" effect where an imbiber claims some "premium vodka" (often Grey Goose) plus {name a mixer} to be his "favorite drink of all time", when there's no way in hell he could consistently distinguish between the premium vodka and some cheap gallon-jug vodka.

Grey Goose sucks... Kettle One's much better.

[Ganchrow]

Originally Posted by MonkeyF0cker

A "sophisticated" drinker such as myself (one who's probably downed the equivalent of 20 steres of vodka) can definitely tell the difference between a decent potato vodka and a cheap run of the mill grain vodka. However, I'd agree that Grey Goose is generally the exception. It's simply a mid-grade wheat vodka. It ranks right up there with Gordon's in my book.

Be it Grey Goose, Ketel One, a potato vodka such as Chopin, or any "premium" vodka of your choice, I'd put up serious money saying that you couldn't reliably distinguish between the premium vodka and a dirt cheap grain vodka in a mixed drink.