Childhood is all about being outdoors – playing learning exploring and travelling. As a mom of two boys we spend a significant time outdoors, be it playing in the park all evening long or road tripping during weekends. In a city where the temperatures are high al through the year, it is important to keep sipping on water to stay cool and hydrated.
The easiest thing is to pop into corner store and buy that bottle of mineral water. As a country we have always relied on Bisleri. It has stood the test of time and is easily available in any part of the country. As a parent, though I am cautious. I had several concerns which needed to be address.
Is plastic bottle safe for storing water?
Is the water purer than the RO water we consume at home?
Are the bottles recyclable?
Is the mineral water suitable for infants?
This is why I jumped at the opportunity of visiting the Bisleri factory in Mumbai. It offered a chance to meet the team, get all queries answered and view their production facility.
Bisleri water goes through a 10 step purification process and 114 quality tests. This is not just any packaged drinking water. We started off with a tour of the factory to see how it is all done. It was a state of the art facility with only the most modern machines and stringent manual checks at every stage.
A slew of quality checks are carried out at the source water collection and only then is it deemed suitable for the purification process. A process called ozonisation which is way superior than chlorination is carried out to ensure that the water is free from harmful bacteria. Ozone is at least 50 times more powerful and 3000 times faster than chlorination to kill bacteria and other microbes.
I was rather surprised to find out that Bisleri mineral water actually goes through the RO process. While most of us swear by RO process to purify water, RO actually eliminates the essential minerals found in water that are good for health. To combat this Bisleri then adds the right amount of minerals to make the water healthy and give it a slightly sweeter taste.
Ozonisation is carried out a second time to improve the purity and shelf life of the water. Drinking this water increases the oxygen levels in our body.
As a final process, all packed bottles are appropriately labelled and adhere to stringent quality checks.
Our tour of the production facility concluded, we meet the team to get our doubts cleared. I consider myself a conscious citizen and do educate the need to consider our carbon footprint. Bisleri being packed in disposable plastic was a definitely concern for the impact that it can have on the environment.
Two things I learnt were –
1. All Bisleri bottles are fully recyclable including the cap. The recycled plastic has a host of use. We saw a bench which was fully made up of recycled plastic.
2. Being made of virgin superior quality plastic, the bottles are not use and thrown. You could easily use them for a month or two before recycling them.
3. A key concern was the fact the water stays in contact with the plastic long durations. However as mentioned this does not affect the quality of water and it is safe to consume.
The conversation took on an interesting debate of the filtered / RO / boiled water we all consume at hone versus Bisleri packaged drinking water. Majority of the families use water from any of these options. Packaged water is mostly consumed on the go. For infants on formula milk, cool boiled water is required. It was interesting note the Bisleri is infact purer than any of the water we use at home. Even for infants it is suitable and need not be boiled before use.
With all these doubts cleared up, I was at ease about giving Bisleri mineral water to my child. For the little ones, there were fun games and activities organised to keep things interesting. I was glad at the opportunity to be able to answer so many questions thrown by my followers and raise awareness for Bisleri versus other options in the market #harpaanikibottlebislerinahi
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