ABSTRACT
Like other foods, bottled water must be processed, packaged, shipped, and stored in a safe and sanitary manner, and they must be truthfully and accurately la beled (79). Bottled waters are generally not sterile products and can contain natu rally occurring bacteria, as well as those introduced during manufacturing or dur ing consumer handling. While most bottled waters are safe consumable products, some products, along with some questionable manufacturing and consumer prac tices, may cause concern for certain segments of the population. This chapter pro vides an overview of the microbiological safety of bottled water.
