It causes kidney stones, it is unsafe, it must be purified before drinking. I am many prejudices and fake news that ‘weigh’ on tap water. A ‘product’ that, instead, is promoted with full marks by the first report drawn up by the National Center for Water Safety (Censia) of the Istituto Superiore di Sanitàpresented today, which examined the results of over 2.5 million chemical, chemical-physical and microbiological analyses conducted in 18 regions and autonomous provinces, corresponding to over 70% of the Italian population, between 2020 and 2022.
Tap Water: Here Are the 7 Most Common False Beliefs
1) “Drinking water, to be ‘good’, must be free of any chemical substance”. False. The opposite is true, in fact: water contains many chemical substances that are beneficial to health and eliminating them does not represent a benefit, but a potential ‘harm’. Removing all the substances naturally present in water – for example boron, selenium, fluoride, chromium, copper or calcium, magnesium, iodine, potassium – would in fact cause a reduction in the supply of elements essential for human health, changes in taste and damage to water networks. However, the legislation guarantees that potentially harmful chemical substances do not exceed levels that could pose a risk. Using tap water is convenient for our pockets and a sustainable habit, because it allows us to reduce the use of enormous quantities of plastic and limit pollution due to transport, distribution and disposal of bottles.
2) “Tap water causes kidney stones”. It is a widespread belief, but false. And this also applies to waters rich in calcium and magnesium salts. The advice to use light or oligomineral waters instead of tap water to avoid kidney stones is not justified by scientific evidence. The formation of stones depends in many cases on an individual or family predisposition. Calcium is essential for our health and its intake should be reduced if a doctor prescribes it.
3) “Tap water is not safe”. Drinking tap water (home or from kiosks or distribution points) is as safe for your health as drinking natural mineral water, because in all cases the absence of risks for consumers is guaranteed by the controls required by law. The difference between drinking water and natural mineral water is that drinking water is a universal human right and its chemical characteristics (hardness, pH, presence of mineral salts) and organoleptic characteristics (odor and taste) can also change over time depending on the sources of extraction and possible treatments, while maintaining the guarantee of safety standards. Natural mineral waters, on the other hand, are consumer goods freely placed on the market and chosen by the consumer, and meet quality standards that, in addition to guaranteeing their safety in terms of health, ensure that the quality and characteristics of bottled water are the same as the water at the source, taken from recognized underground sources.
4) “We can’t really know what the characteristics of home water are”. We can, instead: it is good to know that the website of your drinking water manager already provides data on the characteristics of the water and the results of the checks. Based on the new regulations issued by the Ministry of Health, within 2 years citizens will be able to find much more information on the chemical-physical characteristics of the water distributed in the areas of their interest, water safety plans, checks by drinking water managers and the Local Health Authorities, on a national platform called the Dynamic Territorial Registry of Drinking Water (Antea), currently under construction.
5) “To make tap water safe, a treatment device must be installed in the home”. False. The water distributed in Italy is of a quality adequate for our consumption and does not require other treatments to make it drinkable or to avoid health risks. The sole purpose of the water treatment devices on the market, compliant with specific regulations, is to modify the organoleptic characteristics of the water, that is, to make the taste and smell of tap or sparkling water more pleasant. In the event, due to specific circumstances, an event were to occur that would require restrictions on the use of water, the legislation requires that citizens be promptly informed. Furthermore, the manager and the authorities are required to promptly restore the quality of the water and in the meantime to provide the affected consumers with adequate quantities of water suitable for human consumption with alternative supplies (for example tankers).
6) “Natural mineral water in a carafe may be served at the restaurant”. False. In public establishments, natural mineral water, still or sparkling, must be served in its closed bottle and with its label according to the specific regulations. If, however, drinking water is provided in a treated carafe, the wording “treated drinking water or treated and sparkling drinking water” must be clearly indicated on the container if carbon dioxide is added.
7) “It’s best to avoid asking for tap water at a restaurant”. False. There is no reason not to do so, other than that of a personal choice. On the contrary. Legislative Decree no. 18 of 23 February 2023 asks Regions and Provinces to promote the use of tap water, also by “encouraging or incentivizing the provision of drinking water free of charge to customers of restaurants, canteens and catering services”.
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