Natural mineral water predominantly tested very well

Natural mineral water is characterised by its high quality and high importance for the supply of people. This is confirmed by ÖKO-TEST in the June issue 2023 in the current test of mineral waters with medium carbonic acid content (medium). All tested mineral waters meet the strict legal quality requirements of the Mineral and Table Water Ordinance (MTVO) and safely comply with the prescribed limit values for the high-quality food. Two-thirds of the 50 medium mineral waters tested received the grade "very good" (24) or "good" (9).

"Mineral water is of great importance for the supply of people and is an important component of a healthy diet. The current mineral water test with 50 tested mineral waters illustrates the regionality and diversity of the sources in Germany and confirms that consumers can rely on the high quality of the natural product", comments Jürgen Reichle, Managing Director of the VDM, on the positive test result of ÖKO-TEST. With a per capita consumption of around 130 litres, mineral water is the most popular thirst quencher in Germany. The natural product is also an important and natural supplier of minerals and trace elements, which is provided in Germany by about 150 mostly small and medium-sized mineral water companies, mostly on a regional basis.

"We very much welcome the fact that ÖKO-TEST also addresses the importance of the sustainable use of valuable water resources and effective water protection as well as the necessity of the National Water Strategy," Reichle continued. The Association of German Mineral Wells (VDM) supports the National Water Strategy and its rapid implementation as a project involving all stakeholders in society. The core concern of the German mineral springs is sustainable water protection and responsible water use in all areas of life and all water levels. With a share of only 0.17 percent of the total annual water withdrawal of all water users, mineral springs are a comparatively very small user in Germany. As part of the provision of public services, however, they fulfil important tasks for the supply of people, who cover about 25 percent of their daily liquid needs with mineral water. Mineral wells do not extract more from the groundwater than corresponds to the natural supply. These are the basic principles of sustainable management in harmony with nature and of the abstraction permits issued under water law.

German mineral springs are also global pioneers of sustainable recycling management. With the exemplary reusable and closed-loop systems for beverage packaging, return rates of almost 100 per cent are realised, with very high reuse and recycling rates at the same time. Reusable bottles are reused up to 50 times and disposable bottles are almost 100 per cent recycled. Against this background, the downgrading of the overall rating by ÖKO-TEST on the basis of the reusable or disposable packaging used is incomprehensible to VDM. All types of packaging have their specific advantages in terms of sustainability and usability and are demanded by consumers according to the respective consumption situation - whether for on-the-go leisure, sport or travel.