Bottled water contains high levels of heterotrophic bacteria.

This was spotted by Gayle Leonard's thirsty in Suburbia blog. This was reported this week at the ASM meeting in San Diego. 

Canadian researchers have discovered that many popular brands of bottled water contain “surprisingly high” levels of heterotrophicbacteria! The researchers presented their study results at the general meeting of the American Society of Microbiology in San Diego on May 26.

According to their research, more than 70 percent of the popular brands of bottled water tested failed to meet standards.

The standards are set by the United States Pharmacopeia, the non-governmental agency responsible for setting safety standards for medications and health care products.

This sets the stage for many inquiries to the bottled water industry. Shouldn't it be safer than tap water? Why are they regulated by the US Pharmacopeia and not the USEPA?  Maybe we should ask how often they are regulated. The questions go on. View an interesting video on this topic here.