Portugal’s Mineral and Spring Waters – APIAM presents, in partnership with the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG) and the Analysis Laboratory of the Instituto Superior Técnico (LAIST), the first study conducted in Portugal on the quality and purity of natural mineral waters and bottled spring waters in the country, as announced in a press release.
According to the same source, the study, which involved 14 sector companies, included 53 analyses of natural mineral water and spring water intakes and 26 analyses of the final product — bottled waters in plastic, glass, aluminum, and ecopack. For the first time on national soil, emerging organic contaminants were evaluated*, including endocrine disruptors**, pharmaceuticals, hormones, pesticides, pesticide metabolites, contaminants associated with plastic materials, herbicides, and PFAS***.
The results obtained confirm the maintenance of the original characteristics of natural mineral waters and spring waters, resulting from natural filtration and subterranean circulation processes.
According to Carla Lourenço, Director of Hydrogeological and Geothermal Resources Services of the DGEG, “this study, pioneering in Portugal in the analysis of organic compounds in natural mineral waters and spring waters, outside the usual scope, demonstrates, from a technical and scientific standpoint, that these resources are of excellence, showing an absence of organic contamination in the parameters analyzed and representing a significant advance in deepening their knowledge.” She adds that “the stability of natural mineral waters results from their deep and slow circulation, with water–rock interaction processes that can last for tens to thousands of years; as a consequence, waters attain a well-defined and specific chemical composition.”
The official also stresses that these waters are not subjected to any kind of treatment, maintaining a stable chemical composition from the origin, which demonstrates their natural purity.
According to the study’s conclusions, unlike other types of water, whose safety largely depends on downstream technological processes, in natural mineral waters and spring waters protection is guaranteed by the origin — from the origin — in the subsurface.
In a context marked by the debate around the future of water, the protection of natural resources and the sustainability of territories, the results of this study represent a significant milestone for the sector.
Nuno Ramiro Bernardo, president of APIAM, notes that “the investigation, conducted by LAIST, within the scope of a protocol between the DGEG and the Association, demonstrates, based on rigorous scientific evidence, that the waters maintain exceptional levels of purity and quality.”
The official also underscores the unique character of these waters compared with other categories: “Whereas in other cases safety depends largely on chemical treatments intended to ensure potability or on additional technological processes, in natural mineral waters and spring waters the quality and safety are naturally guaranteed from the origin.”
In a context of growing attention to environmental issues and public health, these results reinforce consumer confidence and value a natural resource that is considered unique in Portugal.
* Substances of synthetic or natural origin that are not commonly monitored, but pose potential risks to human health and ecosystems.
** For example, bisphenol A and nonylphenol
*** “Forever chemicals,” do not degrade easily in the environment
