"Murky Waters" report describes the urgent need for health and environment regulations of bottled water in Canada

OTTAWA - In a new report released today by the Polaris Institute, the current state of federal bottled water regulations in Canada is shown to be woefully inadequate. The new report, Murky Waters: The urgent need for health and environmental regulations of the bottled water industry, describes numerous troubling findings:

-Since 2000, there have been 29 recalls of 49 bottled water products in Canada (obtained through Access to Information by the Polaris Institute).

-Bottled water plants are inspected on average once every 3 years; tap water is regulated and inspected multiple times daily.

-The current mandatory labeling of bottled water products does not sufficiently address a number of health concerns related to content, storage and expiry dates.

-Bottled water production is as much as 2000 times more energy intensive than tap water.

"It is deeply concerning that the 1 in 3 Canadians who primarily drink bottled water as their source of drinking water, are consuming an unregulated and environmentally harmful product" says Joe Cressy, Campaigns Coordinator of the Polaris Institute and co-author of the report.

"The report clearly shows the urgent need for the Government of Canada to take action and implement health and environmental regulations of bottled water", says Tony Clarke, Executive Director of the Polaris Institute and author of Inside the Bottle.