European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 15, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                America s growing thirst for bottled water by Lawrence m. Fisher new York times w hit George t fun inn delivers  in tin Han Cine Dis Ricl of Sanfrancisco tie likes to Pool Oul thai the product he Nelly Al n Little Mere than $5for i five gallon Jurj. Now costs More Ihnn . While this surprising statistic reflects Iho precipitous drop in Oil prices in also indicates the surge in demand Lor bottled water which his become the fullest growing segment of the . Bove Rago Industry. California consumes about 40 percent of the bottled Wynier sold in the United states but thai share has been shrinking. As a Lorie of Wynier Corma Minalio have cropped up across the country a wave of demand for Bol led Waler has Fol found you Don f need too Many love canal incidents to get people thinking about Bol led water said e. In wrench Hickey in analyst Wilh the first analysis corp i Chicago. He describes the Bol led water Market As a play on the pollution  in the past decade per capita consumption has More thin tripled to 5 2 Gallons shall a paltry amount compared to sol i drink consumption of 43.3 Gallons and Beer consumption of 24.b , but sales have risen to about $1.5 billion in 1985 Isom $275 million a do code earlier and analysis predict continuing increases of 15 percent 10 20 Porcell a year. Problems with municipal water supplies May be More perceived Ihan real As May he the purity of Bol led water. Nonetheless the newly heat Ltd and gaiety conscious american consumer appears to be taking no chances. The Bol led Waler Market actually consists of two markets the Lap water replacement Market which accounts Lor about 90 percent o sales and the beverage Markev Bolh Benefit rom health concerns. Fear of contaminated Lap water stimulates still Waler sales while the trend toward lower alcohol consumption spurs demand for Mineral Waters. Bol led still wafer is primarily Home delivered and like Lap water can come from ground water or surface wafer most companies however draw their product from Springs or Wells that hey own or control. The Waler then goes through a variety of purification processes 1o remove organic and inorganic substances. The beverage Market includes the homely Seltzer and club sodas As Well As sparkling Mineral Waters such As Perrier. Mineral water is defined As bottled Waler containing at least 500 parts Par million dissolved solids and originating entirely underground. It is barely treated Al All on lha theory that it comes from a protected source. Naturally sparkling Waters such As Perrier contain their own Carbon dioxide others have added carbonation. Traditionally the two markets have very different distr Bulion and marketing patterns but the distinctions Are weakening As a wave o acquisitions spreads through the business. Still water companies have begun offering sparkling Waters and Mineral water companies have acquired still water haulers. Some analysts say the bottled Waler business the undergoing a consolidation identical to that seen earlier in the Beer and soft drink  they predict big players like coca cola that already have the necessary distribution channels and purification equipment will diva into the bottled Waler business. And when that happens these analys13 say the giants Wilt change the shape of the Industry forever. To Dale the Only water distributed National y is Perrier which first came to the United slates in 1907 and gained prominence As a Chic alternative to sort drinks or alcohol in the late 1970s. It is cheaper to ship Perrier which comes from one source in the South of France than it is to move Domestic Waters across the United states by tuck of rail said Ronald v. Davis president of the per group the american subsidiary of source Pertef of France. The beverage marketing corp shoates the american unit has annual sales of $154.5 million. A matter of taste not safety new York times w Hile contaminated water incidents have spurred sales of bottled water in the United states health experts say municipal supplies Are typically just As Safe to drink american nutritionists Welcome the trend toward subs Lilling Mineral water Lor soda pop or alcohol but also say the simple consumption of More Waler May be its major health Benefit. Most bottled water producers say they prefer to win customers on the basis of Superior taste but few deny that water contamination stories help business. Water Quality in America is  said Ronald a Davis president of the Perrier group in san  such remarks rile water Quality officials. Every time there s a panic about some Remote Well someplace that sends bottled water sales skyward said Jack m. Sheneman. A food technology specialist for California. Bol led water is no More Safe and no less sate than municipal water. It May be More  one Factor contributing to bottled water s Superior taste is the use of Ozone As a disinfectant rather than chlorine. A heavy form of oxygen Ozone dissolves in water leaving no residual Content or taste. Chlorine is used in municipal Waters precisely because ii does stay in water and can guard against decontamination in pipes. Bui chlorine. In Contact with organic matter forms . Which Are potentially carcinogenic in Large doses. There Are  in water supplied by any municipality using chlorine but they Are also in some bottled Walers said Michael j. Mcguire water Quality manager for the metropolitan water District of Southern California. Mcguire said the District has Phihal methane Levels ii a now Lerie Rai standards a 19b5 study by the California Assembly Lound incidences of Bol led Waters Wilh Conla Monnts in excess of drinking Waler  including arsenic fluorides nitrates and chloroform As we As bacteria insects and algae. According Toto report bottled Waler plants have been cited Tor doctoring1 water samples with chlorine so that Laboratory results would show no bacterial growth for not monitoring the Quality of their water sources or their product As required for not keeping required records of Waler testing results and Tor keeping false records which indicate More monitoring than is actually  the report concluded that additional stale legislation was necessary. Federal regulations which apply to water shipped across state lines Only require testing for six pesticides three of which Are no longer used. Domestic Mineral wafer companies have generally shied away from explicit therapeutic claims. But recently Vil Tel of France began extolling the health benefits to be derived from the High magnesium Content of ils California Mineral water. Bartlett Springs researchers at the University of Cali Lorna Al Davis whose work was funded in part by Villel. Confess they were surprised to find an increase in stamina among magnesium deficient Laboratory rats when the Mineral was added to their diets. Vittel s health claim is fundamentally Correct in an individual is in marginal status for magnesium intake said Carl keen an assistant professor of nutrition. Studies show that most americans do take in less than tha recommended daily adult requirement of magnesium but keen said these statistics have two possible interpretations either americans Are magnesium deficient or the requirement is artificially High. Sunday june 15, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 17