Mineral Water Many water types performed well in the test - but there were negative exceptions

Stiftung Warentest: Good mineral water does not have to be expensive

Stiftung Warentest has tested 30 mineral waters with carbon dioxide. Many of them are good, even cheap products. Although some people even like to prepare baby food, the testers found harmful bacteria in a water. And one tasted alien and slightly acetaldehyde from the bottle material.

Recommended cheap mineral waters

To keep cool in the current heat, it helps to drink a lot. Mineral water is one of the favorite drinks of the Germans. Most products are bought with carbon dioxide. "That's why Stiftung Warentest has recently tested 30 widely sold classic waters - from discounters, supermarkets and traditional fountains," reads the website of the foundation. "Some contain a lot of calcium and magnesium or are suitable for the preparation of baby food. Every second water in the test is good, including many cheap products. "

The Stiftung Warentest has taken a closer look at 30 mineral waters with carbon dioxide. More than half cut well in the test. (Image: v.poth / fotolia.com)

Over half of the products tested perform well

For the study published in the magazine "test" (issue 7/2018) many products were sold - eleven classic brands of traditional wells such as Gerolsteiner and Apollinaris and 19 brands of discounters and supermarkets such as Lidl Saskia and Rewe Ja.

17 waters cut well, eleven are satisfactory and two only.

According to the data, the testers detected in one of the two sufficient waters a slightly higher number of germs, which could be of concern to people with immunodeficiency.

The other sufficient water "tasted alien and slightly acetaldehyde from the bottle material," the experts said in a press release.

Critical substances from nature

In five waters slightly increased levels of critical substances from nature were found: arsenic, nickel or uranium.

However, the measured levels are well below the legal limits or regulatory recommendations.

According to the product test, the substances may have been released from rock layers as the water has seeped into the underground source.

Individual waters contained traces of pesticide degradation products and one of sweeteners. Medication residues were not found.

Although the traces of the environment are completely uncritical to health, they call into question the promised original purity. Not every mineral water is rich in minerals. However, it does not have to be that according to the EU regulation.

"14 of the Classic waters in the test contain even fewer minerals than the tap water in many places. Only four Classic waters offer a lot of minerals, they cost between 20 and 66 cents per liter, "write the experts.

Last year, medium waters were tested

Overall, the Classic waters performed slightly better than the medium waters that tested Stiftung Warentest 2017. Among other things, sensory errors were found more frequently in the medium waters.

In addition, it was criticized at that time that in some cases the water taste was impaired by plastic.

Plastic bottles have had a bad health reputation for years.

Of the 30 products tested last year, 22 are still available today, as a recent survey of the providers revealed.

As a rule, medium waters contain less carbonic acid than classic waters. With a market share of 44 percent, they have outperformed Classic Waters, which used to dominate and now account for 36 percent of the market.

Well-known traditional brands and cheaper brands

Among the currently tested products are well-known traditional brands such as Adelholzener, Apollinaris and Gerolsteiner as well as many cheaper brands of discounters and supermarkets.

The information on prices and source locations as well as commodity customers are available free of charge on the website of Stiftung Warentest. For the reviews, however, must be paid.

According to the experts, this is worthwhile, because it gives access to all evaluations and can search for waters with high total mineral substance contents using numerous filter options "or for mineral water that is suitable for the preparation of baby food." (Ad)