By Gene Ayres, Your Consumer Curmudgeon

Correction and update:

In my last dispatch I repeated my assertion that tap water was as good as, and actually safer than, bottled water. While this used to be true in most areas of the civilized world including the U.S., recent developments, as reported this past week by The New York Times, have revealed that this is no longer true. While bottled water does contain cancer-causing plastic contaminants, at least it isn’t the color of coal and loaded with arsenic, barium and lead like the water now coming out of taps in West Virginia, or laced with sewage and e-coli like the farm-runoff contaminated tap water turning up in Wisconsin and other agricultural regions. In fact, the Times has found that contaminated public water supplies exist now in every state of the union. So, much as I hate to do so I am forced to drink my words. Bottled water may actually not only be safer, but an absolute necessity if you or your water supplies are anywhere near large agribusinesses, including poultry, livestock, and any non-organic produce or grain growers. I would say this: read your labels carefully. Spring water might once have been the best choice, but even springs can risk contamination, since water pollution became virtually unregulated or enforced during the Bush era. Your other alternative would be an expensive water filtration system, such as reverse osmosis, which would be better and cheaper in the long run than bottled water in any case.

Meanwhile, for this week’s topic, as usual: corporate malfeasance, hypocrisy and deception remain in the forefront. The latest scam is the new so-called “Smart Choice” labeling program recently put into effect by the largest corporate food processors such as Kellogg, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, ConAgra, and Kraft. Trying to further capitalize on the “green foods” movement, these folks have helpfully set out to relieve us weary and wary consumers of that tedious task of having to read food labels to sort out all those unpronounceable chemical additives, preservatives, and sugar and fat content in their food products. Mind you, the contents haven’t changed at all. Only the labeling. From now on, all these foods, formerly known as “junk foods,” will be relabeled as “Smart Choice” foods, with a nice handy green check mark on the front.