Chemical Composition and Quality Assessment of Bottled Water

Bottled water exhibits a diverse chemical profile determined by its source, treatment processes and packaging. Major ions such as calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium typically define the mineralisation level, while anions including bicarbonate, chloride and sulphate contribute to taste and alkalinity. Trace elements—ranging from essential micronutrients to potential contaminants—are present at varying concentrations and may arise from geological formations, treatment chemicals or leaching from container materials. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids offer rapid indicators of overall water quality and are routinely measured against international guidelines. Advanced approaches, including multielemental analysis and stable or radiogenic isotope fingerprinting, allow detailed characterisation of water provenance and geochemical processes. Microbiological assessment remains critical to ensure absence of pathogenic organisms, complementing chemical metrics. Statistical tools, such as hierarchical cluster analysis, support classification of bottled water types and identification of quality trends across brands. Together, these methods underpin global efforts to safeguard consumer health, inform regulatory standards and guide industry best practice in source protection, treatment optimisation and packaging integrity.

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Chemical Composition and Quality Assessment of Bottled Water publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in chemical composition and quality assessment of bottled water across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Total dissolved solids (TDS): The combined content of all inorganic and organic substances dissolved in water, expressed in mg/L, indicating overall mineralisation.

Electrical conductivity (EC): A measure of water’s ability to conduct electric current, in µS/cm, directly related to the concentration of charged ions.

Stable isotopes: Non-radioactive forms of elements (e.g. 2H, 18O) used to trace water origin and geochemical processes without decay concerns.

Hierarchical cluster analysis: A statistical method that groups samples based on similarity in multiple variables, producing a dendrogram to visualise classification.

References

1. Characterization of Bottled Waters by Multielemental Analysis, Stable and Radiogenic Isotopes. Water (2020).
2. Chemical Evaluation of Trace Elements in Bottled Water. Journal of Healthcare Engineering (2020).
3. Classification and hierarchical cluster analysis of principal Romanian bottled mineral waters. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis (2021).