In the U.S., public water supplies are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under The Safe Drinking Water Act, and the bottled water industry is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food product. The Safe Drinking Water Act also requires that bottled water meets all of the requirements of public water supplies. Together, these regulations mandate the testing of over 50 factors at specified intervals to ensure that bottled water meets these standards. Nestlé Waters has developed internal standards based upon both sets of regulations which we meet or surpass in all cases.
For further information on our testing standards, please review our quality process. All tests required by regulations are conducted by laboratories certified by the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation program overseen by the EPA. Nestlé Waters submits samples for analysis in a manner similar to public systems, following requirements regarding sample size and collection method, shipment, preservation, timing and temperature, and other factors. In addition, we publish quality reports, based on independent testing results that are comparable to those published by public water utilities. Nestlé Waters conducts rigorous and constant in-house tests to ensure product quality.
We open our doors to third-party inspections by key retail customers who ask to conduct audits on an intermittent basis. The United States military also conducts spot audits of plants with which it has contracts. We participate in an International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) program that includes unannounced third-party annual inspections by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), a non-governmental organization that develops standards and provides product certification and education in the field of public health and safety. |
