This was the reaction of the Portuguese Association of Natural Mineral and Spring Water Industries (APIAM), in a statement sent to Lusa, to a scientific study published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This study found that water from plastic bottles contains up to a hundred times more tiny plastic particles than previously estimated.

By using innovative technology, scientists recorded an average of 240,000 detectable plastic fragments per litre of water, after testing the product from several popular brands in the USA.

The results showed that each litre contained between 110,000 and 370,000 particles, of which 90% were nanoplastics, with the rest being microplastics.

The most commonly found type is nylon – probably coming from plastic filters used to purify water – followed by polyethylene terephthalate (PET), from which the bottles are made.

The business association highlighted, in its text, that “in the USA, where the study was carried out and where the three samples analysed come from, bottled waters mostly originate from surface water sources, being treated and purified before bottling ”.

However, he countered, “unlike the USA, in Portugal, as throughout the European Union, natural and spring mineral waters always have an underground origin. The classification of these waters requires confirmation of their original purity, which is why they are not subjected to, nor is any purification treatment permitted”.

In this way, the business association guaranteed that “the conclusions of studies on quality issues associated with bottled water in countries such as the USA cannot, in any way, be extended to the national or European reality”.