Bottled water is drinking water as a packaged food product, regulated by national and local agencies, that allows consumers to purchase and consume water at different locations. The dominant form is water packaged in bottles for individual consumption and retail sale. Another popular form is water that comes in larger glass or plastic jugs, intended for use in the office or home.

Sales

The U.S. is the largest consumer market for bottled water in the world, followed by Mexico, China, and Brazil."Changing Consumer Tastes Creates Explosive Growth For Domestic And International Bottled Water Brands – Revenue In 2007 Expected To Reach $5.974 Billion With Growth Set To Climb Higher Through 2012", press release, IBISWorld, May 21, 2008. In 2008, U.S. bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion gallons for 28.9% of the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market, exceeding sales of all other beverages except carbonated soft drinks, followed by fruit juices and sports drinks."Smaller categories still saw growth as the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market shrank by 2.0% in 2008, Beverage Marketing Corporation reports", press release Beverage Marketing Corporation, 3/30/2009.

Sources

About 25% of U.S. bottled water sold is purified municipal water according to a four-year study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Both Aquafina from PepsiCo and Dasani from The Coca-Cola Company originate from municipal water systems. However according to the FDA, about 75 percent of bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from other sources, including "natural underground sources, which include rivers, lakes, springs and artesian wells." Federal regulations also require that the standard of identity be noted on the bottle label.

Regulation

In the United States, bottled water is regulated by the Food & Drug Administration according to standards of identity, standards of quality and good manufacturing practices.Processing and bottling of bottled drinking water, Department of Health and Human Services, FDA.gov.

Standards of identity define types of water for labeling purposes. To be called ground water, the water must not be under the direct influence of surface water. Water containing not less than 250 parts per million of total dissolved solids are mineral water. Artesian water comes from a well tapping a confined aquifer in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer; it may be collected with the assistance of external force to enhance the natural underground pressure. Water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or similar processes are purified or demineralized water. Sparkling water contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source, although it may be removed and replenished in treatment. Spring water must be derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the Earth's surface. Sterile water water meets the requirements under "sterility tests" in the United States Pharmacopoeia. Well water is water that has been removed from a hole bored or drilled in the ground which taps into an aquifer.