Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991 TAG: 9104110282
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The General Accounting Office, the congressional watchdog agency, concluded the Food and Drug Administration needs to do more to ensure bottled waters are safe.
Inadequate regulations mean "bottled water, including mineral water, may contain levels of potentially harmful contaminants that are not allowed in public drinking water," the report said.
John W. Harman, director of the GAO's food and agriculture issues, told a House panel it was "difficult to make assurances" that bottled waters are safe or unsafe because the industry is not scrutinized well enough.
Ronald Quibell, president of Roanoke-based bottler Quibell Corp., attended the hearing in Washington but was not asked to testify. He was traveling late Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.
The GAO conducted its investigation at the request of Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight, who blasted the FDA for its handling of the bottled-water industry.
The FDA has been "inexcusably negligent and complacent" regarding its duty to regulate bottled waters, Dingell said.
The FDA is responsible for monitoring and testing bottled water, which is considered a food. The general public's drinking water supply, including the wells and springs from which bottled water is drawn, is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies.
"Given the lack of regulation, what consumers are paying for is not necessarily better, purer or safer than tap water," Dingell said.
"In fact, there is a good chance that the product for which they pay 200 to 1,000 times more than for tap water is often from the same source as their public water supply," he said.
Business writer Daniel Howes contributed to this story.
by CNB