Feeling thirsty? Go to Finland
Tap water in Finland is much purer than many brands of bottled water. A report by the Finnish National Public Health Institute claims that bottled water (13 Finnish brands and 5 foreign brands) contained as much as 100 times more germs than regular tap water.The explanation is that with bottled water, there's an "expiration date" as the longer water sits in a bottle, the more likely it's going to get contaminated with microbes. Mineral water can help with the purity--the bicarbonates in it inhibit bacteria.
I wonder how Finnish tap water compares with Fiji water, which several publications have revealed is extremely damaging to the environment to produce and transport. I think this goes to show that in when you're traveling in a first-world country, forget about the bottled water. It might just turn out to be good for your health too.
Filed under: Finland
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Feb 20th 2008 @ 2:09PM
ouj said...
The timing of these news is quite amusing, as the town of Nokia in southern Finland is just recovering from a catastrophical tap water contamination caused by a human error at a local water processing plant. Raw sewage water got mixed with clean water.
Hundreds of people got sick and dozens were hospitalised because the symptoms (diarrhea etc.) were so severe.
I usually drink bottled water when travelling abroad because in many places the water is so strongly chlorinated.
Anyway, if the supermarkets are full of huge cheap water canisters, then it's probably a good idea to follow the locals and drink bottled water. Whereas if the bottled water section is miniscule and water is expensive (like here in Finland), then it's probably ok to stick to tap water.
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Feb 29th 2008 @ 12:59PM
Suomi said...
Finns were environmentally conscious before it became fashionable to do so. The closest I get to Finland is to occassionally drink Finlandi vodka, but if I were to visit Finland, I would most assuredly drink the tap water.
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