Is Ozarka Water Bad For You?
Also Known As: Ozarka Brand 100% Natural Spring Water
Short answer
Although Ozarka Spring Water hasn’t been proven to be bad for you, Nestle isn’t transparent about what goes into testing it. Moreover, the FDA devotes few resources to testing bottled water for safety.
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
There are two kinds of Ozarka Water on the market. One, Ozarka Drinking Water, is headquartered in Oklahoma City and distributed mostly through the South. The other, Ozarka Spring Water, is owned by Nestle - a multinational Swiss company that owns a number of bottled water brands. They are, in fact, the largest distributor of bottled water in the world.
Nestle has taken a controversial stance on water - namely, that water is not a human right. Their CEO drew criticism in 2015 by saying as much. Pushback was particularly strong in California, where a six-year drought has brought snowpack to record lows and where Nestle still bottles much of their water. Nestle's controversial stance, however, goes back further than the California drought; they pushed for water to be reclassified as a need rather than a right at the second water forum in 2000. Moreover, they've been accused of pumping in California's San Bernardino Forest without a permit and committing similar abuses as far abroad as Pakistan.
None of this has a bearing on whether Ozarka Spring Water itself is bad for you. If you place a high priority on ethical consumption, however, you may want to steer away from water bottled and sold by Nestle.
Is It Bad For You has a separate post dealing with the controversies around bottled water. The evidence that water bottles leach dangerous chemicals into their water with heat or re-use is relatively spotty. One downside of bottled water, however, is that many water bottles - even those that are recyclable - end up in landfills. If you're drinking bottled water like Ozarka, remember to recycle your bottles.
The Environmental Working Group is an advocacy group that covers the relative quality and transparency of different bottled water brands. They put out a scorecard in 2011 that gave Ozarka Spring Water relatively low marks. Chief amongst their complaints was that Nestle does not list treatment methods or contact information for securing a water quality report.
But - aside from issues of transparency - how pure is Ozarka Water? It's hard to say. The FDA has safety standards for water that's sold outside of the state that it's bottled in. Water bottled and sold within the same state, however, isn't subject to FDA oversight. Moreover, the FDA allocated relatively few resources to regulating water, so inspections might happen too infrequently to detect potential contaminants or impurities.
Is bottled water like Ozarka Spring Water safer than tap water? Your mileage may vary on that count, too. Some studies have shown no significant difference in the quality of tap water and bottled water. It depends, however, on the quality of tap water where you live; you're much better off in a city like Des Moines, Iowa than you are drinking from the contaminated aquifers of Riverside, California or Flint, Michigan. Take the time to research your local tap water and use a filter if you find that the quality is on the lower end.
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