Pesticides in mineral water: present in 14 brands

Italians are among the world's leading consumers of mineral water, but few are aware that they also contain traces of pesticides. Il Salvagente's test involved laboratory testing of 18 brands: Panna, Levissima, Sant'Anna, Rocchetta, Saguaro (Lidl), Ferrarelle, San Benedetto Popoli – Fonte Primavera, Lete, Guizza Fonte Vallereale, Uliveto, Eva, Vitasnella, Brioblu, Fiuggi, San Pellegrino, Fonte Essenziale, Lauretana, and Evian. The results are depressing: 14 out of 18 brands, or over 77 percent, contain traces of pesticides, even though they are within the legal limits (0,1 micrograms for a single pesticide and 0,5 for the sum of several pesticides).

Only four mineral waters analyzed were found to contain no traces of pesticides: Acqua Panna natural, San Benedetto Ecogreen natural, Evian natural in glass bottles, and Fonte essenziale natural. The data isn't good news for consumers, even though mineral water companies tend to downplay the issue and point to something important, independent of production: traces of pesticides are everywhere—in the air, soil, and water. And this is where we should start to reduce their use.

Read also:

• Why water is so important in our lives
• Reducing food waste by 1 percent could save 7 billion liters of water.
• Don't waste water, the eleventh commandment. We waste it, and in other parts of the world, deadly wars are waged over water. The story in our manifesto book.

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