Avaliação dos requisitos de rotulagem de águas envasadas

Abstract

The bottled water sold in Brazil is classified as natural mineral water, natural water or water added with salts. The consumption of mineral waters has increased over the years, reaching approximately 60 liters/inhabitant in 2020, which must have quality, guaranteeing the consumer no risk to their health. Since the label is an essential element of communication between products and consumers, the objective of this work was to evaluate the labeling of bottled water, marketed in the city of Itaqui/RS, from November 2021 to February 2022, verifying compliance against current legislation. Eleven brands were analyzed, totaling 29 samples, which were randomly coded (from A to K) to ensure brand confidentiality. It was found that the main nonconformities found were related to the lack of indication of the duration in months, the presence of words that induce the consumer to error or misunderstanding, the height of the quantitative indication lower than that established in the legislation and disagreement with the declaration of the deadline. of validity. Only three brands did not show any non-compliance on the labels, meaning that 75.86% of the labels analyzed did not comply with any principle or requirement established in the legislation. It is concluded that labeling adjustments and a greater commitment to compliance with legislation by manufacturers are necessary, together with the implementation of a more effective inspection system.