Significant Purity Differences in Popular Bottled Water
Using its BioSentry® water monitoring system, JMAR recently conducted a study to test the purity of seven of the leading brands of bottled water in order to answer two pressing questions:
Just how pure is bottled water?
and
Does greater cost equate to greater purity?
The seven brands tested were Aquafina®, Arrowhead®, Crystal Geyser™, Dasani®, Evian®, Ice Age® and Spa. The baseline for purity, as measured by the amount of biological particulates detected, was established by using filtered, deionized water. Each brand was tested, then compared to the baseline. The seven brands were labeled and presented in the test result charts in sequential order according to average selling price, from lowest to highest.
What We Discovered
The results, as highlighted in the following charts, were surprising. We found significant disparities in regard to water purity among the brands tested. We also found there was no correlation between price and purity.
In the chart below, you will find particulate counts (per milliliter) for each of the seven brands tested. The BioSentry system uses four channels to detect, measure and classify biological particulates, and each channel indicates a specific shape and size, ranging from 0.4 microns upwards to 10 microns. These particulates typically consist of non-viable, dead, or decomposed bacteria. Although these may not necessarily pose a health risk, they do make us question the overall purity of the water we drink, and for which we pay a premium.
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A Brief Introduction to the BioSentry
A Disruptive Technology for Continuous Vigilance
Ready identification of waterborne bio-contaminates, from manufacturing and bottling to municipalities, is vital to ensuring the safety and purity of a water supply. This critical function has traditionally been accomplished through discrete "grab sample" collection and time-consuming laboratory analysis. Although this remains the standard approach to water monitoring, it is a wholly ineffective one. The grab-sample method merely provides a glimpse into a static location at a singular moment in time. It is therefore incapable of providing the comprehensive, continuous vigilance necessary to assure rapid contamination detection and response.
The BioSentry overcomes all of the traditional grab-sample limitations by going directly to the source. The system is directly integrated into the water supply through continuous, slip-stream flow analysis. This allows BioSentry to dynamically monitor the system for immediate breech detection and rapid remedial response.
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