Is Bottled Water Safer Than Tap Water?

It you thought you were doing yourself a favor by buying and drinking bottled water that it was safer than drinking tap water, you would be wrong. According to a new study, in Canada, bottled water contained more bacteria than tap water.

First it was the fact that bottled water creates so much plastic waste that put it on the scanner and caused cities and schools to ban it. Now it would seem that there is more trouble in store for bottled water.

Over a dozen brands of bottled water were examined and tested in the study conducted by C-crest Laboratories Inc., a pharmaceutical product-testing lab in Montreal. 70% of those brands were found to have “high levels of heterotrophic bacteria” levels, which exceeds standards laid down by the United States Pharmacopeia.

Heterotrophic bacteria may be pathogenic and some which could even bring on infections such as E coli. While in general this kind of bacteria is not very harmful, the younger and older demographic as well as pregnant women could find these bacteria to be potentially harmful.

So next time you reach for the bottled water, don’t assume that it is safer for you than tap water. Maybe tap is better for you as well as the environment?