Your value label supermarket water is straight out of the tap
Ever wondered why the ‘value brand’ bottled water in supermarkets is as cheap as it is? You know, around 20p for two litres? It couldn’t be because it’s just… tap water… could it?
In the case of Tesco's Everyday Value Still Water and Asda's Smartprice Still Water, yes, yes it is. Which is kind of fine, as we all know that UK mains water is safe to drink straight from the tap, but when it costs a third of a penny per litre out of the tap, there’s some sizeable profit-making going on.
The two supermarkets were called out on it by the Telegraph and a Tesco spokesperson told the paper: "Our Everyday Value Still Water goes through a complex filtration process to improve the taste and remove impurities. Tesco sells a wide range of waters to suit all tastes and budgets. All of our products are clearly labelled so customers know what they are buying.”
Meanwhile Asda said: “Our Smart Price water is treated to remove chlorine, further filtered, then bottled. If sparkling, carbon dioxide is added for a bit of fizz. The label on the bottle tells our customers just that.
“Our two litre bottle is 17p. For comparison – if a customer bought a Brita water filter jug at £16 and used it for the recommended 40 gallons, it would cost 21p to produce two litres of filtered water. We’re saving our customers time and money – as well as providing a container.”
What do you lot reckon – is it a bit of a scandal that supermarkets are flogging tap water to their customers or can we expect nothing else for less than 20p for two litres of H2O?
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