An Assessment of Potential Health Threats to International Travelers to Varying Global Standards in Packaged Drinking Water

Safe water is fundamental for positive health and well -being. Much of the ill-health in society, especially in the developing countries, can be attributed to lack of harmless water. Each country elaborates its own drinking water standards based on healthbased targets. To ensure reliable consistent water-treatment and supply, drinking water standards have been prescribed both for drinking water supply and packaged/bottled water. Different countries prescribe standards that vary significantly for various parameters. While these variations are justified for drinking water, varying standards for bottled water are debatably particularly in the context of international travel. The paper makes an assessment of possible health risks associated with bottled (packaged) drinking water for varying prevailing standards in four different nations in the light of global travel. The paper also stresses the need for a unified standard for the current bottled-water standards taking international travel and health into consideration