Bottled Water - Safe to Drink?（在线收听）

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 glacier water and bamboo charcoal 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 Wan 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 distilled 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.

Nutritional experts say there are no production standards for conceptual water in China, so that manufacturers determine the nutrient 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 Supervision, Inspection 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 Pharmaceutical Group, were found to contain an excess of bromate, a potentially carcinogenic chemical produced during ozone sterilization.

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.