Stable isotope composition of Hellenic bottled waters

Abstract

Bottled waters are an increasingly significant product in the human diet. In this work, we present a dataset of stable isotope ratios for bottled waters sampled in Greece. A total of 25 domestic brands of bottled still waters, collected on the Greek market in 2009, were analysed for δ 18O and δ 2H. The measured stable isotope ratios range from − 9.9‰ to − 6.9‰ for δ 18O and from − 67.50‰ to − 46.5‰ for δ 2H. Comparison of bottled water isotope ratios with natural spring water isotope ratios demonstrates that on average the isotopic composition of bottled water tends to be similar to the composition of naturally available local water sources, showing that bottled water isotope ratios preserve information about the water sources from which they were derived and suggesting that in many cases bottled water should not be considered as an isotopically distinct component of the human diet. This investigation also helped to determine the natural origin of bottled water, and to indicate differences between the natural and production processes. The production process may influence the isotopic composition of waters. No such modification was observed for sampled waters in this study. The isotopic methods applied can be used for the authentication of bottled waters and for use in the regulatory monitoring of water products.