LAUSR

Abstract Recently, bottled water consumption has been increased in Iran, because of the priority change from tap water to bottled water usage; therefore, conducting studies on quality control of the bottled drinking waters seems very necessary. In this study, a comparison between the amounts of mineral elements present in 10 bottled water brands from the Kohgiluyeh-va-Boyer Ahmad Province market, SW Iran, and recommended limits by national and international standards and guidelines for drinking water was carried out, with the aim to assess the quality of bottled waters as an outdoor supply source for drinking water. The chosen bottled water brands were analyzed for more than 50 physicochemical parameters, using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), ionic chromatography (IC), hydride generation atomic absorption spectroscopy (HGAAS), spectrophotometry, titration, and conductometry standard methods. The comparison between obtained results and Iranian, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) standards and guidelines showed that all levels of analyzed parameters do not exceed the permitted limits, indicating that the bottled waters have safe quality for drinking use. Results revealed that bottled waters are a valid substitute of tap water, especially for outdoor drinking purpose. Nevertheless, the mineral elements such as Ca, Mg, Na, and K are not provided by the bottled waters in sufficient levels needed daily by human body.