Bottled water generates $4 billion a year for the beverage industry. Millions of people pay up to 10,000 times more for bottled water than what it costs to get water out of their kitchen tap.
Calories
Most bottled water sold in the United States is simply tap water that is treated through filtration, osmosis or other purification technologies. Most bottled water has no calories, no fat, no carbohydrates and no cholesterol.
Flavored Bottled Water
Some bottled waters include flavorings or additives that can add calories. For example, 8 oz. of peach-flavored Propel water has 10 calories and 3 g of carbohydrates. A 20-oz. serving of kiwi-strawberry Propel water has 25 calories and 5 g of carbohydrates. A 10-oz. serving of Bottle Green's Ginger and Lemongrass sparkling water has 29 calories and 7 g of carbohydrates. Special K20's 16-oz. bottled water has 50 calories, 12 g of carbohydrates and 5 g of protein.
Regulation of Bottled Water
The Food and Drug Administration has declared that bottled water is a food and therefore falls under their jurisdiction in terms of regulation and standards. However, the FDA's control of bottled water exempts products that are not identified as "bottled water" on the label. There is little oversight of bottled water that is identified on the label as "water," "filtered water," "carbonated water," "disinfected water," "sparkling water" or "soda water," according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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