Letters: A toxic matter

With reference to the editorial, “Dangerous bottled water” (June 1), the affinity to bottled water is fading, as environmental and health concerns about it are taking centre stage. Besides, using 1.6 litres of water to package one litre of water that tastes no better than tap water, and generating huge post-consumer trash seem unwise. Pepsico had admitted last year that its Aquafina brand of mineral water contains nothing but tap water.

Sikkim became the first Indian state to ban packaged bottled water in government departments and events; Bihar followed suit.

It would be a huge betrayal of people’s trust if bottled water were found to contain toxic chemicals even as processed food is under the scanner.

For the regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to be inconsistent on the presence of potentially hazardous potassium bromate in bakery products and bottled water is tantamount to playing with the lives of people.

The World Health Organization is right in recommending that bottled water should be totally free of impurities, which is what the consumer expects for the money she spends on the product. Effective techniques of filtration such as using nanomaterials, which render water completely safe, should be explored and adopted by companies.

C V Krishna Manoj, Hyderabad

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