Bottled water consumption now outpaces milk
NEW YORK — For the first time in US history, bottled water is outselling milk and is a close second to beer, according to industry newsletter Beverage Digest.

Average annual per capita consumption of bottled water was 21 gallons in 2006, with milk at 19.7 gallons and beer at 21.8 gallons, according to the newsletter. Over the past 10 years, per capita bottled water consumption has grown steadily, while milk has declined somewhat and beer has remained steady.

Soft drink is still the beverage leader, at 50.9 gallons per person per year, although it has dropped some.

Ice River Springs looks to northeast US market
PITTSFIELD, MA — Ontario-based Ice River Springs Water Co. says it has purchased a $4.1 million former toy company warehouse in this western Massachusetts city in which it will manufacture and fill plastic bottles for customers in the northeast United States. This is the second US plant for the company, which has another in Morganton, NC. Other plants are in Feversham, Ontario, and Cranbrook, British Columbia.

Spring water will be trucked to the plant from Vermont, according to the company, which produces its own and private label brands for retail and wholesale markets.

Bottler will ship in tankers from Norway to US
MONTVALE, NJ — Isbre Holding Corp., which produces and sells bottled water and bulk water it obtains from a sub-glacial spring on the coast of Norway, says it is in the process of establishing a northeastern United States bottling facility. The facility will be in a port city which can receive bulk tanker shipments of the water from Norway.

The company sells its water in the US, Canada and Europe.

Isbre also announced that William A. Louttit, a former executive with the Grand Union supermarket company, has been named executive vice president for sales and marketing.

Tech award to Tomlinson for antimicrobial-silver faucets
CLEVELAND — Tomlinson Industries, the Cleveland-based manufacturer, received the Best Use of New Technology award in the water cooler category in the annual Cooler and Vending Awards at the international Cooler Show at Apex 2007 in London.

The award was presented for the company’s antimicrobial HFS^® Series faucets with AgION^®, a silver-based antimicrobial technology built into the faucets.

The competition is organized by United Kingdom-based Zenith International Publishing and its Cooler Innovation magazine and Web site. All award entries were reviewed by a panel of seven independent judges.

Olympics may be popular bottled water site
BEIJING — Bottled water may be a popular item here next summer at the 2008 Olympic Games.

One of the city’s water bureau officials was recently quoted by the Associated Press as recommending against drinking local tap water, although at least tap water for athletes and officials in the Olympic Village will be safe and sufficient.

The Chinese capital is meanwhile upgrading its city-wide water infrastructure for the expected 500,000 Olympic visitors.

Connecticut Senate passes deposit-expansion bill
HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut was moving forward in early May with possible expansion of its bottle-deposit law to include non-carbonated beverages, following a 26-7 state Senate vote for a bill that would also raise the current deposit from 2 cents to 3 cents on all but beer cans and glass bottles.

Bill co-sponsors Sen. Bill Finch, D-Bridgeport, and John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said a main goal of the legislation was to increase the recycling rate of bottled water and other non-carbonated beverages. If the legislation is passed by the state House and signed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, it would take effect January 1, 2009.

COOLER TALK …
• Cascade Springs LLC, headquartered in Milwaukee with a production facility in Arizona, says it will open a water bottling plant in Milwaukee by July or August, employing 14. The three-year-old company is a water supplier to US government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, and plans to target customers at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Lake County, IL. The water source for the new plant will be Milwaukee municipal water.

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IBWA Corner: NC looks at borehole spring water ban

By the International Bottled Water Association
 

IBWA opposes NC borehole-ban proposal
On May 3, North Carolina’s Senate Committee on Commerce, Small Business, and Entrepreneurship held a hearing on SB 868, which would prohibit the use of boreholes for bottled spring water. State Sen. Tom Apodaca (R-Hendersonville), the deputy Republican leader, introduced the measure.

IBWA submitted testimony to the chairman of the committee outlining US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and the pre-emptive effect of the standards of identity. In addition, IBWA understands that the North Carolina Department of Agriculture also opposes the bill.

IBWA will continue to work with North Carolina members and in-state allies in opposing this legislation.

California follow-up: SB 220 and labeling
The California Senate Appropriations Committee has scheduled a hearing on SB 220, which would require bottlers to submit a consumer confidence report to the Department of Health Services and to consumers upon request. In addition, the legislation requires bottled water to be labeled with the following statement:

“For more information and to obtain additional consumer information relating to water quality, including a consumer confidence report, contact (name of bottled water company) at (telephone number or toll-free telephone number) and (at least one of the following: mailing address, e-mail address, and bottled water company Internet Web site address).”

The legislation also establishes a regulatory structure for vended water with annual inspections. The bill would increase the cost of a vended water permit to $40 per machine.

IBWA is working with in-state allies in opposing this legislation, contending that the current regulatory system provides consumers ready access to meaningful information about the bottled water they drink. Bottled water in California (and across the United States) is regulated as a packaged food product and is required to comply with comprehensive regulations and standards that safeguard and inform consumers. This is accomplished through a strong combination of US FDA and California Food and Drug Branch regulations.

The bottled water industry competes with other beverages in the consumer marketplace and IBWA’s legislative efforts are currently focused on keeping bottled water requirements on a par with other packaged foods and beverages. As a result, IBWA opposes California SB 220, which would place requirements on bottled water that do not exist for any other food product. In fact, bill sponsors have not clearly identified why bottled water should be subject to this special treatment, while other food products are not.

The measures proposed in SB 220 are not necessary and will contradict — or even weaken — current FDA and California law, which require that bottled water meet standards of quality, testing, Good Manufacturing Practices, Standards of Identity, enforcement, and labeling. In fact, bottlers are already required to have contact information on the label.

California enacted a law requiring bottled water labels to have a telephone number, Web site, or mailing address, making it even more convenient for consumers to contact a bottler and request specific brand information.

Subjecting bottled water to public water-style consumer confidence reports (not required of other food products; even those where the primary ingredient is water) would require bottlers to provide information that is not applicable to bottled water, such as certain definitions, action levels, variances and exemptions, and treatment techniques.

And unlike a public water system, consumers have a choice in the brand of bottled water they purchase. If a particular company is not responsive to their request for information, why would they continue to purchase the product? If bottled water does not meet the FDA or California standards, it will be removed from the marketplace.

There has been no consumer demand for such measures and no instances where consumers have been placed at risk due to substandard bottled water regulations that would require changes found in SB 220. This bill is the result of a fundamental lack of understanding of how bottled water consumers are protected by FDA and state food laws.

FDA Food Defense Online Seminar available
FDA and other government agencies have developed several online training courses. Most are targeted primarily at other government officials and contractors, but a few are also aimed at private industry partners in food defense initiatives. The online courses are part of FDA’s renewed effort to raise awareness of the importance of food defense throughout the food industry. IBWA presentations to regional associations this year also include a section on food defense awareness.

The following link will take you to the beginning of the course:
http://www.fda.gov/ora/training/orau/FoodSecurity/startpage.html.

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Information provided by the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Alexandria, VA. Founded in 1958, IBWA is the trade association representing the bottled water industry. To reach the IBWA, go to: www.bottledwater.org, or call (703) 683-5213.