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The information on the label of a bottle of water provides a lot of informationfor the consumer. It is important that this information is accurate in order toprotect the consumer and ensure fair trade.

BSDA represents the industry interests and has worked with the FSA and

LACORS to agree guidance for the benefit of consumers, the industry, andthe enforcement profession. The main points of this guidance aresummarised below.

WHAT IS BOTTLED WATER?

There are three differentdenominations ofbottled water: Natural Mineral Water comes from a

named source, has a consistent mineral

composition and is untreated

Spring Water comes from a named

source; may be subject to certain

permitted treatments

Bottled Drinking Water any other

packaged water

The regulations that cover them are the NaturalMineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking

Water Regulations 1999 and subsequent

amendments.

Bottled water may have carbon dioxide added to it.

Minerals may be added to Spring Water or Bottled

Drinking Water (but not Natural Mineral Water).

If organic material, such as sweeteners or flavourings,

is added to water, it becomes a soft drink and is not

classified as water. This leaflet applies only to drinks

classified as water.

LABELLING OFBOTTLED WATER

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Natural Mineral Water

The sales description must be one of:

Natural Mineral Water referring to a stillor non-effervescent product

Naturally Carbonated Natural Mineral

Water meaning an effervescent NaturalMineral Water whose carbon dioxidecontent is the same after bottling as it wasat source

Natural Mineral Water Fortified with Gasfrom the Spring meaning an effervescentNatural Mineral Water whose carbondioxide content derives from the sameground water but the carbonation levelafter bottling is greater than that in thesource

Carbonated Natural Mineral Watermeaning a sparkling Natural Mineral Water

which has been carbonated at least in part

with carbon dioxide from another origin.

Spring Water

For a Spring Water, the sales description isSpring Water with any reasonable qualifiersuch as sparkling or carbonated. Itshould not include the words natural ormineral in order to prevent possibleconfusion with Natural Mineral Water.

Bottled Drinking Water

The following terms may be used in the salesdescription of a Bottled Drinking Water, withthe meanings as described.

Blended a mix of more than one source

De-ionised water in which most of themajor ions have been removed by de-ionisation

De-mineralised water which has beensubjected to distillation, reverse osmosis orde-ionisation

Purified water which has been treated toremove pollutants or disinfectants

Re-mineralised water which is made up toa particular chemical composition

Sparkling can be used where the productis carbonated

Still can be used to indicate a non-carbonated product

Prohibited terms

Natural, Mineral and Spring these wordsall have specific meanings in the context ofthe denominations of water to which theyapply and should therefore not be used inany other way.

Pure the Food Standards Agency advisesagainst use of this word on bottled water.

Organic no water may be called organicbut the agricultural land in the catchmentarea may have organic approval.

Other information on the label

Name of the source both Natural MineralWater and Spring Water must be drawn froma named source. The name of the sourcemust appear on the label in type at least50% bigger than any part of the tradedescription. It is not permitted to marketNatural Mineral Water or Spring Water fromany one source under more than one tradedescription.

Chemical analysis Natural Mineral Watermust have a consistent mineral composition:this must appear on the label in a standardformat prescribed in the regulations. Other

waters may carry a chemical analysis in thestandard format if their mineral compositionis consistent.

Infant feeding while it may be permittedin some other European countries, noreference to infant feeding is currentlypermitted on bottled waters in the UK.

Language of the label all food and drink,including bottled water, must be labelled in alanguage easily understood by the consumer.In the UK, this is taken to mean English.

Other claims any health and compositionalclaims must comply with the regulations.

SALES DESCRIPTION

OTHER INFORMATIONON THE LABEL

Printed and published by British Soft Drinks Association Ltd, 20-22 Stukeley Street, London WC2B 5LR. 2004.

FOR MOREINFORMATION

Detailed explanations of this are available inthe Guide to Good Bottled Water Standards,available from BSDA. For more informationabout the soft drinks industry, please contactthe Public Affairs Department, British SoftDrinks Association, 20-22 Stukeley Street,London WC2B 5LR, tel 020 7430 0356,bsda@britishsoftdrinks.com,

www.britishsoftdrinks.com