Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations 2007 (As Amended) Guidance Note
Thursday 15 July 2010
Guidance is available on the recognition, exploitation, bottling and labelling rules for natural mineral water, spring water and bottled drinking water in the UK.
The FSA is currently reviewing this guidance in depth and has sought views from stakeholders and interested parties. Suggested changes are being considered for inclusion in the draft revised guidance, which will be consulted on in 2010/ early 2011 alongside a draft consolidation of the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations. The draft revised guidance will be in the new format for FSA guidance.
In the meantime the FSA has updated the 2007 version of the guidance notes to include references to the current legislation that applies to bottled water and to make some corrections. A table is given at the beginning of the guidance showing the changes that have been made. Links to the updated guidance can be found under Related Links.
About the guidance
These notes have been produced with the aim of providing informal, non-statutory guidance on the production and labelling requirements for natural mineral water, spring water and bottled drinking water and should be read in conjunction with the relevant legislation and other guidance notes where appropriate (see 'Scope of Legislation' section).
The text should not be taken as an authoritative statement or interpretation of the law. This guidance is to facilitate uniform application and enforcement of legislation relating to natural mineral water, spring water and bottled drinking water with specific reference to those provisions which ensure that the correct processes for exploitation.
It is also provided to help ensure that consumers are presented with meaningful and accurately labelled products which meet the production requirements. However, it is the responsibility of individual businesses to ensure their compliance with the law.
The reader with specific queries is advised to seek further advice from their local enforcement agency, which in most cases will usually be their local authority trading standards or environmental health department as appropriate.
Related links
(pdf 128KB) (pdf 360KB) (pdf 328KB) (pdf 370KB) (pdf 73KB) (pdf 89KB) (pdf 91KB) (pdf 42KB)