Bottled drinking water suppliers. Drinking water of many well-known manufacturers turned out to be hazardous to health (1 photo)

Sales of bottled water in Russia are growing every year. Many people buy bottled water not only in hot weather outside, but also for daily use at home. How not to make a mistake with the choice? Roskontrol experts chose 12 popular brands of drinking and mineral water at a price of 20 to 150 rubles.

At the first stage, experts from Roskontrol were waiting for unpleasant surprises. The most important indicator of the safety of drinking water is the content of microorganisms. In some samples, their allowable amount is exceeded 70 times! This means that in batches dysentery sticks, salmonella and other dangerous microorganisms and viruses can easily be found. For non-compliance with safety requirements, these water brands are included in the “black list” of Roskontrol.

In some brands, the allowable amount of nitrates and nitrites is significantly exceeded, including quite expensive brands. Most likely, water was taken near industrial enterprises, treatment facilities, collective farms or farms. Moreover, the water clearly lay on the surface or at a shallow depth.

Experts found in supposedly clean water still a bunch of waste rubbish: ammonium ions, permanganate oxidation. Exceeding the norms for these indicators says that gasoline, kerosene, phenols, pesticides and other harmful substances could get into the water.

But the declared beneficial micro and macro elements, on the contrary, were not counted. In some samples, calcium and magnesium were almost absent. With the constant use of such water, a deficiency of the corresponding substances in the body will occur. Which in turn will lead to various health problems. And this, judging by the tests, is quite likely, because sales of bottled water in Russia are growing every year. Many people buy it not only in hot weather outside, but also for daily use at home.

For the examination, bottled water was purchased: “Shishkin Les”, Bonaqua, “Holy Spring”, Evian, “Lipetsk Pump”, Cristaline, Vittel, “Just the ABC”, Nestle Pure Life, Aparan, Aqua Minerale, “D (Dixie)” .

Below is a table of test results and a rating of samples for safety, naturalness, usefulness and taste.

Test Results:

1. Water "D" (Dixie) drinking non-carbonated

Water, which is produced in the Nizhny Novgorod region by order of the Dixy distribution network, is recognized by experts as the most useful. She has an ideal composition for the content of micro and macro elements.

From 12 rub. for 1 liter

2. Vittel non-carbonated mineral

Vittel mineral non-carbonated

Mineral water Vittel made in France, according to the results of the examination, is recognized as natural and safe. Its disadvantages include low fluorine content.

From 63 rub. for 1 liter

3. Evian mineral non-carbonated

Evian water meets all safety requirements - no microbes, nitrates and other harmful components were found in it. But there are more useful elements - calcium and magnesium - than in other tested samples.

From 84 rub. for 1 liter

4. "Lipetsk Pump-room" non-carbonated drinking

This water turned out to be the most delicious among the tested samples. But according to the results of laboratory tests, Lipetsk pump room is far from a leader: in terms of total mineralization and fluorine content, water does not reach the physiological norm.

From 16 rubles for 1 liter

5. Aqua Minerale Drinking Still

From 32 rub. for 1 liter

6. Nestle Pure Life Drinking Still

The label on the Nestle water indicates that it is a deeply purified water. Indeed, it was cleaned of harmful substances well, but, unfortunately, during cleaning, there were much less useful elements in it.

From 25 rub. for 1 liter

7. "Just the ABC" drinking non-carbonated

Beautiful words on the label of this water - "pure water", "ideal for cooking", "does not form scale" - turned out to be true only partially. There will really be little scum from this water: there is too little calcium and magnesium in it, but you can’t call it purest: the number of microbes in this water exceeds the norm by 70 times.

From 14 rubles for 1 liter - Black List

8. "Shishkin Forest" non-carbonated drinking

The sample is blacklisted for consumer fraud. Shishkin Forest water does not correspond to the first category indicated on the label, according to the content of macronutrients. It is safe for occasional use, but if you drink it every day, it can be harmful.

From 17 rub. for 1 liter - Black List

9. Bonaqua non-carbonated drinking

Drinking water under the Bonaqua brand does not meet safety requirements: an examination showed that the source of water supply from which it is obtained could be contaminated with waste water

From 23 rub. for 1 liter - Black List

10. Cristaline drinking non-carbonated

The sample revealed numerous violations of the requirements for water of the highest category. The complex toxicity index (the sum of nitrates and nitrites) is 40 times exceeded.

From 40 rub. for 1 liter - Black List

11. Aparan drinking non-carbonated

Aparan Armenian water is unsafe: the number of microorganisms in it is 3.5 times higher than the norm, and nitrates are 2 times more than that allowed for water of the highest category.

From 49 rub. for 1 liter Black list

12. "Holy Spring" non-carbonated drinking

This water is unsafe for health: the rate of organic pollution is exceeded in it. Also on the label are false data on the composition of micro and macro elements.

From 18 rub. for 1 liter - Black list.

Security

At the first stage of research, experts were unpleasantly surprised. The most important indicator of the safety of drinking water is the content of microorganisms in it. In the water “Simply alphabet”, which is manufactured in the Stavropol Territory by order of the “Alphabet of Taste” trading network, the number of microbes is 70 times higher than the permissible norm.

Also, according to this indicator, Aparan water (produced in Armenia) is recognized as unsafe, microorganisms in it are 3.5 times more than normal.

This level of microbial contamination indicates a general disadvantage of the source of water supply. And this means that in the next batch of water "Just the Alphabet" or Aparan dysentery sticks, salmonella and other dangerous microorganisms and viruses can easily turn out to be. For non-compliance with safety requirements, the above water brands are included in the “black list” of Roskontrol

In addition to bacteria, nitrates were found in Aparan water - they are twice as normal. A comprehensive indicator of toxicity (the sum of nitrates and nitrites) is 40 times exceeded in expensive French Cristaline water.

Nitrites enter the source of water from wastewater and are an indicator of the so-called “organic pollution”. Most likely, water was taken in places near industrial enterprises, sewage treatment plants, collective farms or farms, and the water obviously lay on the surface or at a shallow depth (experts use the term "horizons not adequately protected from water from surface runoffs").

Experts have identified several indicators of water pollution - the content of ammonium ions and permanganate oxidation. Exceeding the norms for these indicators suggests that gasoline, kerosene, phenols, pesticides and other harmful substances could get into the water. According to the test results, the Bonaqua and Holy Spring brands do not meet the safety requirements, and Cristaline water, although safe, does not meet the increased requirements stated by the manufacturer, which labeled it as water of the highest category.

How could this happen? Why does even the water that says “artesian” and the well numbers are indicated turn out to be polluted? Shouldn't manufacturers clean it?

Rufina Mikhailova, MD, Head of the Laboratory for Drinking Water Supply Hygiene and Sanitary Protection of Water Bodies, A.N. Research Institute of Human Ecology and Environmental Health Sysina:

  “Any water before packaging goes through the preparation stage. There are many technologies for water purification - depending on the initial quality of the water. The only requirement is that chlorine should not be used to disinfect water intended for bottling. If the water is initially close to ideal, and only a few items are exceeded, simple filters are used.

The most common technology is reverse osmosis. It allows you to get sterile, perfectly clean water - special membrane filters trap all impurities, guaranteeing a stable quality of purified water. But here the opposite effect arises - unfortunately, with too thorough cleaning, water is deprived of not only harmful but also useful substances. By its properties, such water approaches distilled. "

All water samples were also tested for the content of toxic elements - mercury, lead, arsenic, aluminum and others: no water exceeded the content of these substances.

Quality

The value of drinking water is determined by micro and macro elements, in total about 50 substances. For a person, there is a certain physiological norm in the amount and composition of mineral salts dissolved in water. Almost all bottled water labels show the general level of mineralization. From the point of view of daily water consumption, the level of 200-500 mg / l can be considered optimal. With drinking water, a person can get up to 20% of the daily dose of calcium, up to 25% magnesium, up to 50-80% fluoride, up to 50% iodine.

Examination showed that there is almost no calcium and magnesium in the Shishkin Forest and Aqua Mineral water, the lack of fluorine is in Bonaqua water, the Holy Spring, Lipetsk pump room, and even in the expensive Evian and Vittel water. With the constant use of such water, a deficiency of the corresponding substances in the body will occur. Recall that a lack of fluoride causes caries, calcium - osteoporosis and reduced bone density (and, as a result, a tendency to fractures, and in children - a violation of the formation of the skeleton), magnesium - problems with the heart and nervous system.

The content of bicarbonates is exceeded in Shishkin Les water; according to this indicator, water does not correspond to the first category stated on the label.

According to doctors, the use of water with a high content of bicarbonates is not recommended for people suffering from chronic kidney disease, including with the formation of stones, as well as people with reduced secretion of gastric juice.

According to the results of our tests, Evian, Vittel, Nestle Pure Life, Aqua Minerale, "D" (Dixie) and "Lipetsk pump-room" were recognized as safe. The optimal composition (in terms of minerals and trace elements) is found in drinking water “D” (Dixie). She, by the way, is the cheapest of the tested samples.

The tastiest participants of the tasting were the Lipetsk pump-room water (which lacks useful elements) and the French water Evian and Vittel (in which calcium and magnesium are contained in sufficient quantities, and there is no fluorine at all)

To compile the rating, water was packaged in 19-liter bottles (this is the kind of product that can be considered the most common among buyers). Water in this packaging is delivered to Muscovites' offices and apartments; it can be purchased at major supermarkets, gas stations, and other retail outlets.

The study of the quality of drinking water lasted about six months, dozens of analyzes were carried out to establish physico-chemical parameters, mineral composition and organoleptic. Several non-profit organizations were involved in the research, including the International Union of Drinking Water Producers, the Consumer Protection Union, NK “Russian Control” and some others.

Label Secrets

Before proceeding to the rating of drinking water, it is worth mentioning the extremely interesting conclusions made during the examination process. As it turned out, often the same water is sold under different brands, while its cost varies over a fairly wide range. For example, you can bring drinking water brands "Dear Muscovites", "Mountain Peak" and "Legend of the mountains." The composition of all these types of drinking water is so similar that it was safe to say about a single source of filling 19-liter bottles. Having verified the seller’s certificates, our conclusions were confirmed, all the water was produced and bottled at one plant of Aqualine CJSC in the village of Nizhny Arkhyz. Moreover, the certificates for drinking water of 19 liters under the brand name “Dear Muscovites” explicitly indicate “mineral water natural drinking canteen Mountain peak under the brand name Dear Muscovites non-carbonated well NN 2,3”, all the same wells numbered 2 and 3 are indicated in the certificates to the water "Mountain Peak" and the water "Legend of the Mountains" 19 liters. That is, the water “Dear Muscovites”, “Mountain Peak” and the water “Legend of the Mountains” are absolutely the same product, sold at different prices, where the analogue costs 30% cheaper. You can familiarize yourself with the certificates in detail by clicking on the link: the official website for Mountain Peak water, 19 liters.

Water Mountain Top 19 l - 390 rubles

Water To expensive Muscovites 19 l - 450 rubles

Legend of Horus 19 l - 475 rubles

The same situation can be observed with water "Pavlovsk springs" and "Bourgeois". The only difference that the experts could find is the cost - the price of Bourgeois water is 100% higher than the cost of Pavlovskie Rodniki without any justifiable reasons, the water was spilled from one well located directly in Moscow. In fact, the twins are the Semerik and Glavvoda 19 liters water brands, as evidenced by the reviews, and the price difference of at least 15% is paid by consumers exclusively for the label.

Quite an ugly situation with the Eden water of 19 liters. Judging by the results of the examination, this water is a product of the central water supply of the Domodedovo district of the Moscow Region, a little "ennobled" by means of conditioning and artificial softening.

True, the study helped dispel one of the myths that covered the Caucasian waters. Many buyers doubted the mountain origin of this product, but, as it turned out, completely in vain. “Sofia Glacier”, “Mountain Peak”, “Pilgrim”, “Sofia Mountain” and “Arkhyz” - these brands have proven their natural origin, their microchemical composition is fully consistent with the declared sources of production.

Choose the best!

  Now you can go directly to the rating itself. It is worth noting that in addition to the quality of water and the compliance of its composition with GOST, other factors were taken into account, for example, the number of consumer complaints and the results of an anonymous survey. It is difficult to check all the brands available on the modern drinking water market, but the most popular brands of bottled water fell into the scope of researchers. Below is an alphabetical list of products that fall under the classification of “bottled water with a volume of 19 liters” and participated in the examination:

Water AVK, AquaAreal, Aleksinskaya, Amelia, Aqualider, Abago, Arkhyzik, Aqua Donbay, Arkhyz, Aquideal, Aquaflot, Water Alphabet, Aquara, Alexander Key, Barskie keys, Butylkof, Biovita, Bourgeois, Magic Water, Faith, Baikal Wave, Water Online, Mountain peak, Mountain Elite, For dear Muscovites, Valley of apple trees, Darzakh, Erinsky, Unified, Pearl of the Caucasus, Healthy water, Kara-Su, Kubai, Karachay, Royal water, Legend of the mountains, Bear land, Novoterskaya, Nestle, Our water, Real water, Oxy, Pilgrim, Pavlovsk springs, Semiruchye, Senezhskaya, Holy source cnik, Senezhskaya, Sophia glacier, Santalovsky spring, Element of life, Holy spring, Staro-Mytishchi spring, Salkovskaya, Semerik, Slavnitsa (var), Make the world better, Tsvetnoy well, Khvalovskaya, Uvinskaya pearl, Ulanskaya, Filimonov spring, Chernogolovskaya, Shishkin Forest, Schoolboy, Aeneas, Elbrusinka, Eden 19 liters.

By scrupulously analyzing each brand of water, the experts made a rating, the places in which were distributed as follows:

1. Water "Santalovsky spring"
   2. Water "Ulanskaya"
   3. Water "Arkhyz"
   4. Water "Holy Spring"
   5. Water "Karachay"
   6. Water “Senezhskaya”
   7. Aleksinskaya water
   8. Water "Semiruchye"
   9. Water "Barsky Klyuchi"
   10. Water "Mountain Elite"

Here is only the first ten brands that showed the most satisfactory result in terms of the set of criteria for determining quality. If you are interested in the full list, you can find it on the website of our resource at the link:

Given the great response to past publications, we decided to continue a series of articles related in one way or another to the topics of the bottled water market in Russian cities. In this information review, we will examine the issue of the rating of drinking water in the city of Moscow and the Moscow Region, the largest market in Russia, and we will start with such a segment as water in 19 liter bottles. As a rule, companies deliver it directly to apartments, offices, and this water can also be purchased in large chain stores like 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 it. 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 the official data of several non-profit organizations specializing in quality control of drinking water. The numbers are obtained by interviewing respondents according to the results of anonymous questionnaires made by them on the basis of a detailed study of the physicochemical analysis of the samples in accordance with GOST. The fact of the least consumer appeal and complaints about the quality of a product as a whole was also taken into account in the vote.

The following organizations (non-profit *) accepted in the quality survey:
   - "Rospotrebnadzor";
   - “NK Russian control”;
   - OSPBV (branch union of manufacturers of Moscow);
   - Union for the Protection of Consumers of Goods (Moscow);
   - Rossminprom (joint venture of the Russian Federation).

Please note that the survey was conducted anonymously in order to exclude the manipulation of manufacturers to extract commercial interests.
   The most popular brands in Moscow and the Moscow Region participated in the analysis, with the name of the product falling under the classification “bottled water with a volume of 19 liters” (separated by commas, according to alphabetical order):

Water AVK, AquaAreal, Amelia, Aqualider, Abago, Arkhyzik, Aqua Donbay, Arkhyz, Aquideal, Aquaflot, Water Alphabet, Aquara, Alexander Key, Barsky keys, Butylkoff, Biovita, Bourgeois, Magic Water, Faith, Baikal Wave, Water Online, Mountain peak, To dear Muscovites, Valley of apple trees, Darzakh, Erinsky, Unified, Pearl of the Caucasus, Healthy water, Kara-Su, Kubai, Karachay, Royal water, Legend of mountains, Bear’s edge, Novoterskaya, Nestle, Our water, Real water, Oksi, Pilgrim, Pavlovsk springs, Senezhskaya, Holy spring, Senezhskaya, Sophia glacier, Sa Ntalovsky 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 forest, Schoolboy, Aeneas, Elbrusinka, Eden 19 liters.

After analyzing the data and checking all the initial numbers, we got a rating of bottled water for coolers, where the places were placed alternately, according to the aggregate quality criteria. The format of our article does not physically allow us to lay out the list in full, so we decided to name only the top 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. Aleksinskaya water 19 l.
8. Water "Semiruchye" 19 l.
9. Water "Barsky Klyuchi" 19 l.
10. Water "Mountain Elite" 19 l.

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

The names are different, but the source is one. What are we overpaying for?

Also at the entrance of our small study, we received very interesting side conclusions from the testing organizations. The data obtained indicate that some brands of drinking water are completely identical to each other, that is, in fact, this is the same water under different names. For example, “Aquaflot” water is 19 liters, “Unified”, “Alphabet of water”, “Pavlovsk springs”, “Bourgeois”, “AquaAreal”, “Aenea”, “Slavnitsa”, and “AVK”, with a probability of 99% , obtained from the same source, as they say, spilled from the "one barrel", or rather, the source, which is located directly in Moscow.

A similar situation was found with other brands from the checked list. So, for example, the Mountain Top water of 19 liters and the Legend of Gore water of 19 liters completely coincide with each other both with compositions and other organoleptic properties, being essentially one product under different names and the Mountain Legend water is different from “ Mountain Peaks ”with only an additional margin of 20%.

Drinking water "Glavvoda 19 liters" is actually bottled in the suburbs and is drinking water "Semerik" which was called in a new way, and unlike Semerik water itself, the water of "GLAVVODA" 19 liters costs 15-20% more, it turns out that the overpayment just goes for the label.

We will definitely return to this issue in our next publications and will try to cover in more detail the problem of price manipulation by deliberately misleading buyers.

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

There is also positive news: with the help of these tests we managed to destroy and dispel the common myth that supposedly all the "Caucasian" water is poured into the cellars of the Moscow Region, and not taken from the Caucasus. Now we have every reason to say with 100% certainty that everyone’s favorite water of Arkhyz of 19 liters is produced in the North Caucasus: its mineral composition, physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics correspond to the declared production region. All the same applies to other tested samples of mountain waters: “Sophia Glacier”, “Mountain Peak” and “Pilgrim” water with their microchemical compositions completely coincide with the water that can be obtained exclusively in the region of the Teberda Biosphere Reserve.

For clarification of all indicators, numbers and ratings, we decided to contact the 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 be the subject of 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 producers, we will answer the questions which water is really mountain and which water is better to choose for permanent use in the home, at home and in the office . All the best to you, follow our publications.