Mineral, Spring, Purified, Artesian - What is the difference?

Not all waters are the same and health conscious consumers are often confused by the extensive range of labels and brands on the market.

Generally speaking most consumers incorrectly assume that a bottle of purified water from a major soft drinks company contains spring water sourced from a far off protected mountain valley. When they later discover that it is actually nothing more than filtered municipal water they are often disappointed and understandably so.

The classification of different types of water and the terminology used to describe them also varies from country to country. For example: a product classed as a Natural Mineral Water in Europe would actually be labelled as a Natural Spring Water in North America.

The terminologies used below apply to North America and we will shortly be adding a separate link to labelling terms used in other important markets for Icelandic Glacial such as the UK, France & Holland.

Spring Water
Widely recognized & acknowledged as the product of choice for discerning consumers, Natural Spring Water, as it is more correctly referred to derives from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. Spring water must be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. Spring water collected with the use of an external force must be from the same underground stratum as the spring and must have all the physical properties before treatment and be of the same composition and quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface of the earth.

Purified Water
Water that has been processed by means of distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or any other recognized method meeting the definition of purified water in the United States Pharmacopoeia may be labelled as purified bottled water. Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the above processes may include distilled water if it is produced by distillation, deionized water if it produced through deionization or reverse osmosis water if the process used is reverse osmosis. Alternatively, "--------Drinking water" can be used with the blank filled in by one of the terms described above. eg, "Purified drinking water" or "Distilled drinking water".

Mineral Water
Spring water containing not less than 250 parts per million total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water. Mineral water is distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the source. No minerals can be added to this product.

 Artesian Water
Bottled water from a well or spring that taps a confined aquifer - defined as a water bearing underground layer of rock or sand - in which the water level stands above the top of the aquifer.

 Well Water
Bottled water from a hole that has been bored, drilled or otherwise constructed in the ground which taps a water aquifer.

Sparkling Bottled Water
Water that after treatment or possible replacement with carbon dioxide, contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had as it emerged from the source. Sparkling bottled waters may be labeled as Sparkling Drinking Water, Sparkling Spring Water or Sparkling Mineral Water.