Bottled Water Essay

Nicole Fuerstnau

Mrs. Lang

English 9

22 April, 2010
Bottled Water Essay

When you’re thirsty, are you hesitant to grab bottled water
because you’re unsure if it’s safe for you? You no longer have to
worry. Some people, however, believe that bottled water isn’t safe for you because how it effects the environment and more. Bottled water is safe for you because it passes all of the government regulations, it is a source of purified water, the containers must be sanitary, and the container also is recyclable.
One of the reasons why bottled water is safe is because
bottled water must meet the FDA standards. The standards for FDA
are food safety, labeling, and quality. The FDA is very strict and
protective of public health because it must meet the environmental
protection agency standards for public water systems. Because bottled
water has to go through/pass so many requirements, it’s not possible
for it to be unsafe. Bottled water, also, must have specific
characteristics in order to be called spring water, purified water, etc.
Bottled water is regulated at both the federal and local levels by the
strict agencies.
Another reason why bottled water is safe is because the
container of the water must be sanitary. The Good Manufacturing
Practices (GMP) requires a sanitary environment that the container of
water is produced. “The GMP requires that the containers are packaged in sanitary, safety sealed containers which must be confirmed by the FDA for food contract.” Having sanitary containers helps to keep the consumers safe from germs and bacteria. Just because the containers of the bottled water is sanitary doesn’t change the fact that it can be recyclable, which is a positive feature because the container will not pollute the environment.
The final reason why bottled water is safe is because the
water flows from controlled water sources. The water can come form
springs and artesian wells that must be protected, by law, form the
influence of the environment like surface intrusion. This standard
makes sure that the water isn’t contaminated by Cryptosporidium.
“Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can contaminate water and infect a
person that consumes it.” By having the water sources controlled, it
decreases the chance of having any parasite in bottled water that you might purchase.
The opposing side thinks that bottled water isn’t safe for you for
many reasons. For starters they think that bottled water is not safe for
he environment. However, bottled water is environmentally friendly if
the source is a public water supply and because the bottles are able to
be recycled. Also, the opposing position thinks that stores like “Wal-
Mart and Giant Brands are no different than tap water when their
bottled water was chemically tested.” This is a very weak argument on
their half because it means that if you tasted both of the waters, tap
and bottled, they would taste identical.
In conclusion, bottled water is safe for you because
the container is recyclable, the container must be sanitary, the water has to pass certain requirements, and comes from naturally flowing springs. After looking at both view points, clearly bottled water is safe for you.