New bottled water standard launched

A new national standard for Irish bottled water has been launched.

The IS 432:2005 standard for packaged water was launched at an event in the offices of safefood in Cork.

The standard was developed by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) in conjunction with the industry, represented by the Bottled Waters Association of Ireland (BWAI), a division of the Beverage Council of Ireland.

Launching the new standard, Minister for Trade & Commerce, Michael Ahern said: "It is important that consumers have as much information about the products they buy and consume and that Irish companies continue to deliver the highest standard products possible.

Three companies were presented with the new standard at the launch - Kerry, Ballygowan and Tipperary.