Bottled Water - Safe to Drink?

Bottled water, including mineral and purified water, has become part of our lives. But now there is a wide variety of conceptual bottled water on the market that is extremely expensive, such as glacier¹ water and bamboo charcoal² water. Almost all of them claim to be rich in special minerals and trace elements that are good for people's health. But are these water products really as good as their labels say?

Zhang Wan³ finds out.

 
Although people used to rely largely on tap water as their main source of drinking water, in recent years consumers have begun to shy away from tap water and turned to bottled water. Companies that manufacture bottled water promise a purer, healthier water product than tap water. They have expanded greatly to supply the growing demand for quality drinking water.

The bottled water industry is clearly here to stay. But is the price of bottled water really worth it? Do consumers truly get better water for their money?

Some supermarkets sell all kinds of bottled water, including bamboo charcoal water, glacier water and distilled⁴ water. The various minerals and trace elements they are supposed to contain are marked on the bottles' labels. The prices of this conceptual water are generally much higher than that of ordinary mineral water.
 
Most customers say they are not sure if conceptual bottled water is really worth the price, and they believe ordinary plain water is good enough.

Nutritional⁵ experts say there are no production standards for conceptual water in China, so that manufacturers determine the nutrient⁶ content.

Nutritional expert Shen Yang explains:

"Currently, China only has production standards for drinking water and mineral water. For other water, there are yet to be any standards. Whether these conceptual water products are as good as their manufacturers say, there is no proof of their real effect."

Water is essential for our bodies and our survival. But lately there have been reports that it can also cause cancer if it contains certain harmful chemicals.

The Central Administration of Quality Supervision⁷, Inspection⁸ and Quarantine announced earlier this month on its website that 18 brands of bottled water contained cancer-causing chemicals.

Six brands of bottled water, including a brand of pure water produced by Harbin Pharmaceutical⁹ Group, were found to contain an excess of bromate, a potentially carcinogenic chemical produced during ozone¹⁰ sterilization¹¹.

Eighteen brands of the total 220 inspected in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province were deemed unsuitable for sale and consumption.

Experts warn that because people's physical conditions are different, their need for trace elements is different. Therefore, plain water is likely the best type of water for everyone.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.

1 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

2 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

3 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

4 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

6 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

7 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

8 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

9 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

10 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

11 sterilization   

n.杀菌，绝育；灭菌

参考例句：

• Sterilization by filtration is subject to one major theoretical limitation. 过滤灭菌具有一个理论上的局限性。 来自辞典例句
• Sterilization is a treatment that frees the treated object of all living organisms. 灭菌处理是从处理对象排除一切生活的生物。 来自辞典例句