Assessment of BottledWater Quality in Kermanshah City Based on Calcium and Magnesium Hardness: Consumer Awareness and Laboratory Studies

Today, the use of bottled water has increased significantly for various reasons, such as the low quality of tap water, presence of hazardouschemicals in piped water, ease of transport, and accessibility. Therefore, considering the quality features of bottled water isof utmost importance. The present study was conducted in the two stages of questionnaire and laboratory with the aim of determiningthe correlation between the quality of hardness when bottled water is purchased and evaluate the calcium and magnesiumcontents in the laboratory. The applied questionnaire was designed based on water hardness in four sections of knowledge andattitude, and its validity and reliability were confirmed. The calcium and magnesium contents were determined using standardmethods and the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry apparatus. The obtained results indicated that the most importantindicators of purchasing bottled water were softness availability, brand, and coldness. Contrary to consumer claims, the mostcommonly used bottled water (۶۰% of the brands) were observed to be those with high hardness. Therefore, it could be concludedthat factors such as availability, marketing, and percentage of the consumption market are the most important influential factorsin the consumption rate of bottled water.

Keywords:

BottledWater , Hardness , Taste and Odor , Calcium and Magnesium