Irish tap water being sold as bottled

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

Irish tap water being sold as bottled

The FSAI has discovered that three companies are effectively selling tap water taken from the public water supply

Three of the country’s 26 bottled-water companies take their product from public supplies without telling customers.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has confirmed that three unnamed firms are effectively bottling tap water and selling it, and are not required to reveal the source of the drink on the label. The practice is legal so long as the water is safe to drink.

The information was contained in a letter sent by the Department of Health to Andrew Doyle, a Fine Gael TD for Wicklow. It says information on the three water companies was provided to the department by the FSAI, but the authority says it does not have the names of the companies involved.

The Health Service Executive (HSE), which furnished the information to the FSAI, refused to release a list of the 26 bottled water companies it investigated. “This is not a public register; we do not release such information to third parties unless it is deemed to be in the public-health interest,” said a spokesman.

Even though the agency carried out the original investigation it said it did not know the names of the companies using public water. Raymond Ellard, acting director of the FSAI, said: “Our only concern is that the water is fit for human consumption and that it is safe.” Ellard conceded that consumers do have “a right to know where the water is coming from”.

Doyle, Fine Gael’s spokesman on food, called on authorities to “name and expose” the companies. Doyle has also called for an urgent review of the labelling regulations.

“The FSAI will argue that it is not a food-safety issue because tap water is safe to drink, but surely it is a competition issue? People have a right to know what they are paying for,” he said.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article6719244.ece

[Papa C.]

I'm not surprised at this at all. In fact, when bottled water started to come out I said to a number of people, 'sure what's the point in buying it? It tastes exactly the same out of the tap'. I'd say ballygowan was one of the water companies doing this. The only reason I've ever bought water was to get the bottle so that I could fill it up with tap water and use it over and over.

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

Aug 1, 2009 21:06:51 GMT Papa C. said:

I'm not surprised at this at all. In fact, when bottled water started to come out I said to a number of people, 'sure what's the point in buying it? It tastes exactly the same out of the tap'. I'd say ballygowan was one of the water companies doing this. The only reason I've ever bought water was to get the bottle so that I could fill it up with tap water and use it over and over.

During the anti-bintax campaign, me and a mate were invited into a house while out leafleting. During the course we said "if they push the bin taxes through, next will be water charges". The chap said "but sure people are already buying water from shops (in relation to the increasing amount of people buyung bottled water)". My mate said "to wash themselves?". That shut him up and was lost for words. Funny because he was so cocky about it ;D

Someome said on another forum that a CocaCola owned (Rockwell?) bottled water is chemically identical to Belfast tap water.

You wouldnt want to use the plastic bottles over and oiver that much as they are supposed to release chemicals from the plastic after a period of use (only made for one off use). Or so I heard.

We get all our water from taps in Dublin in bottles becaise the tap water here in meath is horrible. Full of lime. Wed be the same though, buy the big bottles of water to reuse

[Papa C.]

Aug 2, 2009 14:27:41 GMT Stallit 2 de Halfo said:

During the anti-bintax campaign, me and a mate were invited into a house while out leafleting. During the course we said "if they push the bin taxes through, next will be water charges". The chap said "but sure people are already buying water from shops (in relation to the increasing amount of people buyung bottled water)". My mate said "to wash themselves?". That shut him up and was lost for words. Funny because he was so cocky about it ;D

Classic bud. So did this guy invite yee in so he could give yee stick?

Aug 2, 2009 14:27:41 GMT Stallit 2 de Halfo said:

Someome said on another forum that a CocaCola owned (Rockwell?) bottled water is chemically identical to Belfast tap water.

Coke own RiverRock water and related products. You know the 'deep RiverRock, it's water you wear' advert?

Aug 2, 2009 14:27:41 GMT Stallit 2 de Halfo said:

You wouldnt want to use the plastic bottles over and oiver that much as they are supposed to release chemicals from the plastic after a period of use (only made for one off use). Or so I heard.

Yeah I heard that aswell. Sure most foods we eat have cancer causing ingredients in them. The Government don't say anything as they don't want it to affect low cost products.

[thefiguresix]

There is a way to find out who the companies are Im sure. Its a matter if interpreting the labels. They can be ambiguous but they cant out and out lie. I am interested in trying to figure this out and Im hoping that one of those companies is deep river rock. I sometimes buy a bottle to refill from the tap and I get a new one every now and again. I usually get ballygowan as the only other choice is deep river rock and i try to avoid buying coca cola products as well as opt for local. Anyway, Ive just found an old Ballygowan bottle lying around and ive been having a look at the packaging. I think that there would have to be the words mineral or spring water on the bottle.
Ballygowan just says "Pure Irish Still Water". Well you could legally use that phrase to describe the water in my toilet , dosent mean you would want to drink it though! Another strange thing is where it says "Ballygowan is filtered by Nature through calcium-enriched limestone rock" why does "Nature" have a capital "N". This is a trick Ive heard of before where a company ambiguously uses a term with a capital letter so that it can actually refer to for example a trade marked process rather that what you would assume the meaning to be.
From this i would say that Ballygowan is one of the three. Im gonna quiz their customer helpline with a few very specific questions and see if I can get any more info.

[Papa C.]

Aug 4, 2009 19:44:05 GMT thefiguresix said:

There is a way to find out who the companies are Im sure. Its a matter if interpreting the labels. They can be ambiguous but they cant out and out lie. I am interested in trying to figure this out and Im hoping that one of those companies is deep river rock.

I would also think one is Deep River Rock comrade. It is just like Coca Cola to do this. I mean why wouldn't they sell it. Companies like them are always trying to cut costs and increase profits, what better way to do it. The recycling companies are the same. They collect raw materials for free (bar some overheads such as wages and trucks (which I find most of them rent)) and sell the materials on for a tidy profit.

Aug 4, 2009 19:44:05 GMT thefiguresix said:

I sometimes buy a bottle to refill from the tap and I get a new one every now and again. I usually get ballygowan as the only other choice is deep river rock and i try to avoid buying coca cola products as well as opt for local.

I boycotted Coca Cola for 2 years at one stage. I found out what their products were and boycotted. If I asked for '7up' in a pub and got 'Sprite' I'd say it to them (that must piss 7up off btw). Then I thought, sure one person isn't going to make much of an impact, what's the point. I really should have thought it through and got a whole bunch of pubs and shops to do it with me lol.

Aug 4, 2009 19:44:05 GMT thefiguresix said:

Anyway, Ive just found an old Ballygowan bottle lying around and ive been having a look at the packaging. I think that there would have to be the words mineral or spring water on the bottle.
Ballygowan just says "Pure Irish Still Water". Well you could legally use that phrase to describe the water in my toilet , dosent mean you would want to drink it though! Another strange thing is where it says "Ballygowan is filtered by Nature through calcium-enriched limestone rock" why does "Nature" have a capital "N". This is a trick Ive heard of before where a company ambiguously uses a term with a capital letter so that it can actually refer to for example a trade marked process rather that what you would assume the meaning to be.
From this i would say that Ballygowan is one of the three. Im gonna quiz their customer helpline with a few very specific questions and see if I can get any more info.

I agree comrade, that's good info, thanks. Let me know how it goes.