Comparative study between bottled mineral and tap water in Italy

In this work we compare the inorganic content of bottled mineral water, steadily increasing as a source of drinking water, and tap water which is often affected by intensive chemical treatment Bottled mineral water should be representative of the hydrogeochemical composition of groundwater, whereas tap water could derive from multiple sources such as groundwater or surface water including rivers and reservoirs. The data of this paper were collected within a project carried out by the EuroGeoSurvey Geochemistry Expert Group aimed at the characterization of groundwater geochemistry using bottled mineral waters purchased in supermarkets all over Europe which included also the analysis, for comparative purposes, of tap water.