In recent years, with the economic development and the improvement of people's living standards, the bottled water market has also ushered in new opportunities and challenges, people's demand for healthy and safe drinking water is increasing, and convenient, safe and high-quality bottled water is favored by more and more consumers.
With the advent of summer, bottled water is about to enter a new round of peak consumption. According to the survey, there are many names, manufacturers and brands of bottled water products sold in the market. How do you tell the difference between these bottled water with the same name? Which brands of bottled water are more stable and reliable in quality? Which brands of bottled water have been found to be of unacceptable quality? What indicators of bottled water are prone to quality problems? What causes unqualified bottled water?
In order to provide scientific reference opinions for consumers to buy bottled water, and to fully meet consumers' right to know, Consumer Quality News and Consumer Quality Network jointly launched the special activity of "2024 Bottled Water Consumption Survey". The purpose of this event is to lead consumers to buy high-quality bottled water, promote quality competition and survival of the fittest, urge the industry to consciously maintain market order, and promote the high-quality development of the bottled water industry through a large number of market surveys and data releases.
Recently, the reporter of the consumer quality newspaper visited some bottled water distribution stations in Jinniu District, Wuhou District, Jinjiang District, Longquanyi District and other areas of Chengdu, and found that there are many types of bottled water sold in the market, mainly pure water, mineral water, mountain spring water, natural spring water, natural water, etc.
During the reporter's market visit, it was found that some bottled water distribution stations would take head brands such as "Blu-ray", "Blue Sword" and "Quanxing" as flagship brands, and then distribute bottled water of small brands with low visibility. When it is found that consumers are "experts", the distribution station will generally directly recommend the head brand; When it is found that the consumer is a "novice", the delivery station will generally recommend a small brand with a lower price. According to industry insiders, some small brands of bottled water belong to OEM production, and the ex-factory price may be as low as about 3 yuan/barrel.
From the perspective of price comparison, the price of bottled water with high brand awareness is relatively high, for example, the same natural spring water, "Nongfu Spring" bottled water selling price is about 26 yuan/barrel, "Xide Nongfu", "Jiafeng", "Zilongquan" and other bottled water selling price is only about 13 yuan/barrel. Industry insiders said that the market share of "Nongfu Spring" bottled water in Sichuan is low, and it is quite different from the head brand of Sichuan's local industry.
The reporter visited a number of bottled water distribution stations and found that the market price of some mountain spring water, natural water, pure water and other bottled water is about 13 yuan, and the market price of mineral water bottled water is about 20 yuan. Some citizens said that although the price of mineral water of brands such as "Blue Sword Ice Age", "Blue Light Vitality Heart" and "Quanxing" is a little higher, the taste and quality of the water are good, and it is more comfortable to drink.
During the visit, the reporter found that most consumers can distinguish the difference between natural mineral water and pure water, but it is difficult to tell the difference between Qingshan spring water, natural spring water, natural water and natural mineral water. There are also some bottled water distribution stations where the person in charge will intentionally or unintentionally confuse mountain spring water and natural water with mineral water.
What is the difference between these different names of bottled water? After multiple investigations, the reporter found that there are only 2 national standards for the implementation of bottled water, one is GB 8537-2018 "National Food Safety Standard for Drinking Natural Mineral Water", and the other is GB 19298-2014 "National Food Safety Standard for Packaged Drinking Water". GB 8537-2018 "National Food Safety Standard for Drinking Natural Mineral Water" clarifies that the bottled water that implements the standard is "drinking natural mineral water", and GB 19298-2014 "National Food Safety Standard for Packaged Drinking Water" divides the product into drinking pure water and other drinking water. The standard is not further refined.
The reporter further investigated and found that the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China and the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China issued the GB/T 10789-2015 "General Principles for Beverages" on February 4, 2015, which divided other types of drinking water into drinking natural spring water, drinking natural water, and other drinking water. The water source of "drinking natural spring water" is spring water that naturally gushes out of the ground or is collected by drilling wells, and the water source of "drinking natural water" is wells, mountain springs, reservoirs, lakes or mountain glaciers, among which mountain springs belong to "drinking natural water".
How can consumers distinguish between these different types of bottled water? Experts say that the key to distinguishing bottled water is to look at the implementation standards. The implementation standard for natural mineral water is GB 8537-2018 "National Food Safety Standard for Drinking Natural Mineral Water", and the implementation standard for purified water, natural spring water, drinking natural water and other drinking water is GB 19298-2014 "National Food Safety Standard for Packaged Drinking Water".
Which brands of bottled water are natural mineral waters? By checking the implementation standards of bottled water labeling, the reporter found that the bottled water of brands such as "Blue Sword Ice Age", "Blue Light Vitality Heart" and "Quanxing" belongs to natural mineral water, and the bottled water of brands such as "Nongfu Spring", "Xide Nongfu", "Jiafeng", "Zilongquan" and "Longquan Mountain" belongs to other types of drinking water of packaged drinking water, not natural mineral water.
Which bottled water companies are more reliable in quality? With the help of the big data monitoring system, the Consumer Quality Public Opinion Monitoring Center analyzed the unqualified bottled water sample testing data monitored in the past year, and found that the unqualified bottled water enterprises generally have a small production scale, low brand awareness, and low market share, and some unqualified bottled water belongs to small brand OEM production.
In order to provide consumers with scientific reference opinions for purchasing bottled water, and in order to fully meet consumers' right to know, the Consumer Quality News Public Opinion Monitoring Center summarized and analyzed the testing data of quality inspection institutions in various parts of the province in the past year, and authoritatively released the "2024 Bottled Water Consumption Report - Quality Red List Enterprises (Part)". The purpose of this event is to lead consumers to buy high-quality bottled water, promote quality competition and survival of the fittest, urge the industry to consciously maintain market order, and promote the high-quality development of the bottled water industry through the release of the quality red list.
After big data monitoring, the Consumer Quality News Public Opinion Monitoring Center found that the bottled water of large brand enterprises such as Sichuan Blu-ray Mineral Water Co., Ltd., Sichuan Lanjian Beverage Group Co., Ltd., and Chengdu Quanxing Mineral Water Industry Co., Ltd. has not been found to be substandard in the past year after being tested by relevant quality inspection agencies, and there have been no major consumer complaints and disputes, nor have there been major quality accidents or negative public opinion.
After big data monitoring, the Consumer Quality News Public Opinion Monitoring Center found that the bottled water of big brands such as "Blue Sword Ice Age", "Blue Light Vitality Heart" and "Quanxing" has been tested by quality inspection institutions for many times. At the same time, its brand enterprises have been commended by relevant government departments and promoted by official media for many times, with high consumer evaluation and high market share.
The public opinion monitoring center of the consumer quality report summarized the monitoring data of bottled water in the past year, and found that the unqualified items of unqualified bottled water generally are: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, nitrite, coliforms, boundary indicators, bromate, etc., among which the problem of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most serious, in the unqualified bottled water monitoring samples, the bottled water that is unqualified due to the detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounts for 87%.
Which bottled water has quality problems? In order to provide scientific reference opinions for consumers to purchase bottled water, and also to promote quality competition and survival of the fittest, urge the industry to consciously maintain market order, and promote the high-quality development of the bottled water industry, the Consumer Quality Public Opinion Monitoring Center summarized and analyzed the testing data of quality inspection institutions in various parts of the province in the past year, and authoritatively released the "2024 Bottled Water Consumption Report - Quality Black List" (partial). The reason why the company is on the list is that the company has bottled water, and in the past year or so, it has been tested by relevant quality inspection agencies and found that there are unqualified items.
Summarizing the sampling data in the past year, the reporter found that the unqualified situation of Sichuan Shouxiang Beverage Co., Ltd. was more serious, and there were 3 batches of unqualified bottled water within a year, of which 2 batches of bottled water were unqualified because Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected, and the other 1 batch of bottled water was unqualified because of excessive nitrite. Chengdu Yuba Industrial Co., Ltd., Meishan Fuxing Natural Drinking Water Plant, Meishan Dongpo District Guoyuan Natural Drinking Water Plant, and Gulin County Longjing Spring Pure Water Plant all had 2 batches of unqualified within a year, and the reason for the disqualification was that the bottled water of the enterprise was detected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Why do some companies' bottled water fail to meet the requirements of Pseudomonas aeruginosa? According to experts, the production of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is relatively complex, and all aspects of the production, storage and transportation of bottled water are easy to produce.
For example, the drinking natural spring water bottled water produced by Chengdu Dayi Yedi Food Co., Ltd. has been unqualified by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. According to the investigation, the unqualified Pseudomonas aeruginosa project in the batch of bottled water is due to the high temperature and rapid reproduction of bacteria, the pollution of the recycling barrel in the circulation process is relatively serious, the sanitary control in the production process is not strict, and the original disinfectant concentration for the disinfection of the recycling barrel is not enough to kill the bacteria in the seriously polluted recycling barrel, resulting in incomplete cleaning and disinfection of the barrel.
Another example is the drinking natural spring water produced by the Xueshan Spring Drinking Water Plant in Dayi County, which has also been unqualified for the Pseudomonas aeruginosa project. According to the investigation, the unqualified Pseudomonas aeruginosa project in the batch of bottled water was due to the non-standard operation of the employee when cleaning the bucket, resulting in the unqualified Pseudomonas aeruginosa project in the batch of products.
According to experts, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common gram-negative bacillus, which has strong resistance to physical and chemical factors such as disinfectants, drying, and ultraviolet rays. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has less effect on the general population, but it has certain health risks for people with weakened immune systems.
After big data monitoring, the consumer quality public opinion monitoring center found that the unqualified bottled water enterprises in the past year are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, and large brand enterprises rarely appear or do not appear at all Pseudomonas aeruginosa project unqualified, which fully shows that as long as the production is carried out in strict accordance with national standards, as long as enough attention is paid to the rights and interests of consumers, as long as the whole process management of bottled aquatic production and marketing is strengthened, no matter how difficult the problem can be solved. (Consumer Quality News Special Report Group)