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Finland: Study finds tap water purer than bottled water

Helsingin Sanomat. -

Tap water in Finland has been found to be significantly purer than bottled drinking water.
A fresh study by the National Public Health Institute indicates that bottled water contains up to 100 times more microbes than the average for tap water. Water in spring water machines contained up to 1,000 times more microbes than tap water. The study found that being kept for a long time in plastic containers significantly weakens the quality of bottled water.

"Good and fresh, especially cold", says train conductor Maria Ahola, as she takes a sip of Helsinki tap water at her gym.
She says that she keeps a bottle filled with tap water at work as well as the gym, as the air conditioning on trains has a dehydrating effect. "I like tap water more than French bottled water", Ahola says.

Finnish bottled water is usually well water, which contains microbes from the soil. Sometimes bottled water stands at room temperature for months, allowing the microbes to multiply.

Professor Terttu Vartiainen at the National Public Health Institute says that water with a high microbe content cannot be considered to be of high quality. However, she adds that it is not actually dangerous to drink.

The study involved samples taken from 100 spring water machines and 155 bottles of non-carbonated bottled water. The spring water for the machines, which have increased in popularity at Finnish work places and in stores, are supplied by two companies in Finland. About 10,000 such machines are in use in Finland.

The bottled waters represented 18 brands by 12 different producers. Included were five foreign brands of water.
Mineral waters were not included. Researcher Ilkka Miettinen says that mineral waters are purer because the bicarbonate added to the water inhibits the growth of microbes.

The bottled waters were compared with 23 samples of tap water in the East Savo area. The quality of the samples is comparable to that of tap water in other parts of Finland.
Jari Keinänen of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health believes that the basis of the growing water market in Finland is the perception among consumers that packaged waters are of higher quality than tap water.
Experts say that although bottled water is generally no better than tap water, it has its place in situations in which municipal water sources become contaminated, or during travel to countries where tap water is known to be unsafe to drink.

The company Kuohun Kirkas began to sell bottled well water in 1977.
The company's CEO Esa Vaherto feels that the true risk factors of Finnish drinking water are the lengthy water pipes in Finnish cities and towns which no longer meet the standards for transport of comestibles.