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

Bottled water sales 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 be mistaken with the choice? Roskontrol experts have selected 12 popular brands of drinking and mineral water at a price from 20 to 150 rubles.

At the very first stage, Roskontrol experts were waiting for nasty surprises... The most important indicator of the safety of drinking water is the content of microorganisms. In some samples, their permissible amount is exceeded by 70 times! This means that the parties can easily contain dysentery sticks, salmonella and other dangerous microorganisms and viruses. For non-compliance with safety requirements, these brands of water are included in Roskontrol's "black list".

In some brands, the permissible amount of nitrates and nitrites is significantly exceeded, including quite expensive brands. Most likely, the water was taken not far from industrial enterprises, treatment facilities, collective farms or farms. Moreover, the water clearly lay on the surface or at a shallow depth.

Experts found in the supposedly pure water a bunch of unnecessary trash: ammonium ions, permanganate oxidizability. Exceeding the norms for these indicators suggests that gasoline, kerosene, phenols, pesticides and others could have got into the water. harmful substances.

But the declared useful micro- and macroelements, on the contrary, were not counted. Some samples were almost free of calcium and magnesium. With the constant use of such water, there will be a deficiency of the corresponding substances in the body. Which in turn will lead to various health problems. And this, judging by the tests, is quite likely, because the 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.

Bottled water "Shishkin Les", Bonaqua, "Holy Spring", Evian, "Lipetsk pump room", Cristaline, Vittel, "Prosto Azbuka", 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. Non-carbonated drinking water "D" (Dixie)

The water, which is produced in the Nizhny Novgorod region by order of the Dixy trading network, is recognized by experts as the most useful. She has an ideal composition for the content of micro- and macroelements.

From 12 rubles. for 1 liter

2. Vittel mineral still

Vittel non-carbonated mineral

Mineral water Vittel produced in France was recognized as natural and safe according to the results of the examination. Its disadvantages include a low fluorine content.

From 63 RUB for 1 liter

3. Evian mineral still

Evian water meets all safety requirements - no microbes, nitrates or other harmful constituents 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 Byuvet" non-carbonated drinking water

This water turned out to be the tastiest of the samples tested. But according to the results of laboratory tests, "Lipetsk pump room" is far from the leader: in terms of total mineralization and fluorine content, the water falls short of the norm of physiological usefulness.

From 16 rubles. for 1 liter

5. Aqua Minerale non-carbonated drinking

From 32 RUB for 1 liter

6. Nestle Pure Life non-carbonated drinking

Nestle water label states that it is water deep cleaning... 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. "Prosto Azbuka" non-carbonated drinking

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

From 14 rubles. for 1 liter - Black list

8. "Shishkin Les" non-carbonated drinking

The sample is blacklisted for defrauding consumers. Water "Shishkin Les" does not correspond to the first category indicated on the label in terms of the content of macronutrients. It is safe when consumed occasionally, but it can be harmful to health if consumed every day.

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 have been contaminated with wastewater

From 23 RUB. for 1 liter - Black list

10. Cristaline non-carbonated drinking

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

From 40 RUB for 1 liter - Black list

11. Aparan still drinking

Armenian water Aparan is unsafe: the number of microorganisms in it is 3.5 times higher than the norm, and the number of nitrates is 2 times higher than 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: it has exceeded the organic pollution index. Also, the label contains inaccurate data on the composition of micro- and macroelements.

From 18 rubles. for 1 liter. - Black list.

Safety

At the very first stage of the research, the experts were in for unpleasant surprises. The most important indicator of the safety of drinking water is the content of microorganisms in it. In the water "Prosto Azbuka", which is made in Stavropol Territory by order of the Azbuka Vkusa trading network, the number of microbes is 70 times higher than the permissible standard.

Also, according to this indicator, Aparan water (made in Armenia) was recognized as unsafe, it contains 3.5 times more microorganisms than the norm.

This level of microbial contamination speaks of the general disadvantage of the water supply source. This means that the next batch of water "Prosto Azbuka" or Aparan can easily contain dysentery sticks, salmonella and other dangerous microorganisms and viruses. For non-compliance with safety requirements, the aforementioned brands of water are included in the "black list" of Roskontrol

In addition to bacteria, Aparan water contains nitrates - twice the norm. The complex indicator of toxicity (the sum of nitrates and nitrites) is 40 times higher in expensive French water Cristaline.

Nitrite enters the water source from Wastewater and are an indicator of the so-called "organic pollution". Most likely, water was taken from places located near industrial enterprises, sewage treatment facilities, collective farms or farms, and the water clearly lay on the surface or at a shallow depth (experts use the term "horizons insufficiently protected from the penetration of water from surface runoff").

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

How could this happen? Why is even the water, which says "artesian" and the numbers of the wells, is contaminated? Shouldn't producers be cleaning it?

Rufina Mikhailova, MD, DSc, Head of the Laboratory for Hygiene of Drinking Water Supply and Sanitary Protection of Water Bodies, Scientific Research Institute of Human Ecology and Hygiene environment named after A.N. Sysina:

“Any water goes through a preparation stage before packaging. There are many water purification technologies - depending on the initial water quality. 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 the indicators are exceeded only for a few elements, simple filters are used.

The most widespread technology is “ reverse osmosis". It allows you to obtain sterile, ideal clean water- special membrane filters trap all impurities, guaranteeing a stable quality of purified water. But here the opposite effect also arises - unfortunately, with too thorough cleaning, water loses not only harmful, but also nutrients... In terms of its properties, such water is close to distilled ”.

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

Quality

The value of drinking water is determined by micro and macro elements, about 50 substances in total. For humans, there is a certain physiological norm for the amount and composition of dissolved in water mineral salts... Almost all bottled water labels indicate the total mineralization level. From the point of view of daily water consumption, the optimal level is 200–500 mg / l. WITH drinking water a person can receive up to 20% of the daily intake of calcium, up to 25% of magnesium, up to 50-80% of fluorine, and up to 50% of iodine.

The examination showed that there is almost no calcium and magnesium in the water "Shishkin Les" and "Aqua Minerale", a lack of fluorine in the water of Bonaqua, "Holy Spring", "Lipetsk pump room" and even in the expensive water of Evian and Vittel. With the constant use of such water, there will be a deficiency of the corresponding substances in the body. 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 skeletal formation), magnesium - problems with the heart and nervous system.

In the water "Shishkin Les" the content of bicarbonates is exceeded, according to this indicator the water does not correspond to the first category declared on the label.

According to doctors, drinking water with a high bicarbonate content is not recommended for people with chronic kidney disease, incl. with the formation of stones, as well as people with reduced gastric acid secretion.

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

The tastiest to the tasting participants were the Lipetsk pump-room water (which lacks useful elements) and the French water Evian and Vittel (which contain sufficient amounts of calcium and magnesium, but no fluoride at all)

To compile the rating, water was chosen, packaged in 19-liter bottles (this is the product that can be considered the most common among buyers). Water in such packaging is delivered to the offices and apartments of Muscovites; it can be purchased in the largest 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 the physicochemical parameters, mineral composition and organoleptic properties. The studies involved several non-profit organizations, including the International Union of Drinking Water Producers, the Union of Consumer Protection, NK "Russian Control" and some others.

Secrets of labels

Before moving on to the rating of drinking water, it should be mentioned about the extremely interesting conclusions made during the examination process. As it turned out, often the same water is sold under different trade marks, while its cost varies in a fairly wide range. For example, we can cite drinking water of the brands "Dear Muscovites", "Mountain Peak" and "Legend of the Mountains". The composition of all these types of drinking water is so similar that one could confidently assert about a single source of filling for 19-liter bottles. After verifying the certificates of the sellers, our conclusions were confirmed, all the water was produced and bottled at one plant of JSC "Aqualine" in the village of Nizhny Arkhyz. Moreover, the certificates for drinking water of 19 liters under the trademark "Dear Muscovites" directly indicate "mineral water, natural drinking table Mountain peak under the trademark Dear Muscovites, a still well NN 2,3", all the same wells numbered 2 and 3 are indicated in the certificates to the water "Mountain Top" and 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 an analogue is 30% cheaper. You can familiarize yourself with the certificates in detail at the link: the official website of the Mountain Peak water 19 liters.

Mountain Peak water 19 l - 390 rubles

Water To Dear Muscovites 19 L - 450 rubles

Legend of the Mountains 19 l - 475 rubles

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

A completely ugly situation has developed with Eden water of 19 liters. Judging by the results of the examination, given water is a product of the central water supply of the Domodedovo district of the Moscow region, slightly "refined" with the help of air conditioning and artificial softening.

True, the study helped to dispel one of the myths that surround the Caucasian waters. Many buyers doubted the mining origin of this product, but, as it turned out, in vain. Sophia Glacier, Gornaya Verkhnaya, Pilgrim, Sophia Gornaya and Arkhyz - these brands have proven their natural origin, their microchemical composition fully corresponds to the declared sources of extraction.

Choose the best!

Now you can go directly to the rating itself. It should be noted that in addition to the quality of water and its compliance 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 sphere of researchers. Below is alphabetical list products that fall under the classification of "bottled water with a volume of 19 liters" and took part in the examination:

Water AVK, Aquaareal, Aleksinskaya, Amelia, Aqualider, Abago, Arkhyzik, Aqua Donbay, Arkhyz, Aquaideal, Aquaflot, Alphabet of water, Aquaru, Aleksandrovsky key, Barsky keys, Butylkof, Biovita, Bourgeois, Magic water, Vera, Wave of Baikal, Water Online, Mountain peak, Mountain Elite, Dear Muscovites, Valley of apple trees, Darzakh, Erinskaya, United, 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 spring, Senezhskaya, Sophia glacier, Santalovsky spring, Element of life, Holy spring, Staro-Mytishchinsky source, Salkovskaya, Semerik, Slavnitsa (var), Make the world kinder, Colored well, Khvalovskaya, Uvinskaya pearl, Ulanskaya, Filimonovskiy source, Chernogolovskaya, Shishkin forest, Shkolnik, Aenea, Elbrusinka, Eden 19 liters.

Having meticulously analyzed each brand of water, the experts made a rating, the places in which were distributed as follows:

1. Water "Santalovskiy source"
2. Water "Ulanskaya"
3. Water "Arkhyz"
4. Water "Holy Spring"
5. Water "Karachay"
6. Water "Senezhskaya"
7. Water "Aleksinskaya"
8. Water "Semiruchye"
9. Water "Barskiye Kluchi"
10. Water "Mountain Elite"

Here are only the first ten brands that have shown the most satisfactory result in terms of a set of criteria for determining quality. If you are interested full list, you can familiarize yourself with it on the website of our resource at the link:

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 market of drinking bottled water in Russian cities. In this information review, we will analyze the issue of the 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, 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 station stations.

We will not tire our followers detailed description of all our actions, as some journalists like graphomaniacs. Just know, in order to prepare the material, it took us about 6 months hard work and several dozen experiments. And so, to the point.

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

The following organizations (non-profit *) were accepted 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 (JV RF).

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

Water AVK, Aquaareal, Amelia, Aqualider, Abago, Arkhyzik, Aqua Donbay, Arkhyz, Aquaideal, Aquaflot, Alphabet of water, Aquaru, Aleksandrovsky key, Barskie Klyuchi, 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's land, Novoterskaya, Nestle, Our water, Real water, Oxy, Pilgrim, Pavlovsk springs, Senezhskaya, Holy spring, Senezhskaya, Sophia 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 forest, Shkolnik, Aenea, Elbrusinka, Eden 19 liters.

After analyzing the data and comparing all the initial figures, we got a rating of bottled water for coolers, where the places were placed in turn, according to the aggregate quality criteria. The format of our article, physically, does not allow to lay out the list in full, so we decided to name only the top ten best samples.

1. Water "Santalovskiy source" 19 l.
2. Ulanskaya water 19 l.
3. Water "Arkhyz" 19 liters.
4. Water "Holy Spring" 19 l.
5. Water "Karachay" 19 liters.
6. Water "Senezhskaya" 19 liters.
7. Aleksinskaya water 19 l.
8. Semiruchye water 19 l.
9. Water "Barskiye Kluchi" 19 l.
10. Water "Mountain Elite" 19 l.

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

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

Also, during our small research, we received very curious side conclusions from the auditing organizations. The data obtained indicate that some brands of drinking water are completely identical to each other, that is, in fact, it is one and the same water under different names. For example, water "Aquaflot" 19 liters, "Edinaya", "Azbuka Vody", "Pavlovsky Springs", "Bourgeois", "AquaAreal", "Eneya", "Slavnitsa", and "AVK", with a probability of 99% , obtained from the same source, as they say, are poured from "one barrel", or rather a source that is located directly in Moscow.

A similar situation was found with other brands on 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, in fact, one product under different names and water "Legend of the Mountains" differ from " Mountain peak "only with an additional margin of 20%.

Drinking water "Glavvoda 19 liters" is actually bottled in the Moscow region and is drinking water "Semerik", which was named in a new way, and unlike the water itself Semerik, water "GLAVVODA" 19 liters is 15-20% more expensive, 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 highlight the problem of price manipulation by deliberately misleading buyers as much as possible.

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

There is also positive news: with the help of these tests we managed to destroy and dispel the widespread myth that supposedly all the "Caucasian" water is bottled in the basements of the Moscow region, and not taken from the Caucasus. Now we have every reason to assert with 100% certainty that the beloved Arkhyz water of 19 liters is produced in the North Caucasus: mineral composition, physicochemical and organoleptic indicators correspond to the declared production region. All the same applies to other tested samples of mountain waters: "Sophia Glacier", "Mountain Peak" and water "Pilgrim" 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 the indicators, numbers and ratings, we decided to contact the representatives of the companies included in our rating and are among the leaders of the Moscow bottled water market: Vodokhleb LLC, Arkhyz LLC, Vodovoz LLC, Top Vater LLC ... These comments will be the topic for our next articles, research 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 truly mountainous and which water is better to choose for constant use in everyday life, at home and in the office. ... All the best to you, follow our publications.