bottled water scare
 

I saw this on another web site so thought I would pass it along. Has anyone heard this??

This is intended as a "heads up" !! In the last 2 weeks,10 people-including 2 small children-have been hospitalized in Italy after drinking bottled water,purchased in supermarkets,that had been poisoned with acetone,ammonia, or bleach . The contaminants had been injected into the bottles,just below their caps. As of Monday, 12/08, at least 20 cases of contamination of various brands had been reported, and contamination has been found in 20 cities all over the country,including Sicily : giving rise to a suspicion there might be a "copycat factor" at work. Fortunately, in most cases, consumers noticed the contamination before using...

thought this might be an internet rumor - but there is an article on the La Repubblica (newspaper) website stating that about 100 cases have been reported - they recommend drinking tap water
http://www.repubblica.it/2003/l/sezi...ppa/mappa.html

I hadn't heard this. Apparently it's true. I just did a fast search on the Corriere della Sera website (don't know where the search function is on La Repubblica site and found a whole series of articles from the last few days. Situation looks bad. I have to go out now, will look into it more later. Meanwhile, here's a pile of articles (in Italian):


http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...ospedale.shtml

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...a-scuola.shtml

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...08/acqua.shtml

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...uamilano.shtml

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...minerale.shtml

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...minerale.shtml

http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...solvente.shtml


http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/C...imentari.shtml

Actually, its been front page news in Italy for some time. And it's not limited to mineral water. Any beverage container made of plastic or cardboard (containing any liquid, e.g. soft drinks, milk, coffee, juice, tomato sauce, chicken soup, even wine) should be inspected, turned upsidedown, and SHAKEN VIGOROUSLY before consuming. Once again, ANY CONTAINER IN PLASTIC OR CARDBOARD containing liquids should be carefully inspected. What about beverages purchased at bars and cafes where the container is handled by the barista??????????????

Tapwater in Italy, as throughout Europoe, is wholly safe to drink, and is free.

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Ben, could you explain how one orders tap water at a restaurant in Italy? I have tried every way I know, but nothing works. I am always served bottled but still water when I ask for what I have been told is tap water.

Great question, Calgirl, I have the same problem in Italy!

Aqua del' "rubinetto". Prounounced Ruby-netto means tap or faucet. Uusually tastes like bleach or worse. That is why bottled until now has been so popular.

Elsewhere une carafe d'eau du robinet, s'il vous plait, and Leitungswasser, bitte. In Belgium waiters refuse you point blank, and would sooner see you leave their restaurant unfed.

Ben Haines

Ben Haines, I cannot imagine any waiter refusing a request from you if you are as polite in restaurants as you are here! Hmmmm..perhaps a way of telling you that your restaurant choice wasn't worthwhile in the first place and better to eat elsewhere.

Another silly scare! I'd guess that the majority of the Italian population drinks bottled water, and that's most of 50 million people. You're far more likely to be knocked over by a car, but at least it's easy to check whether a plastic bottle has been tampered with.

Calamari, I'm a bit confused by your post. I drink tap water out of hotel faucets all over Italy without problem, and have never found it tasting like bleach or worse. Why would it be different in a restaurant?

I have tried that "ruby-netto" deal and usually get a waiter who mutters a bunch of something, then comes back and opens a bottle of water with no gas. This is never a problem in France where I truly prefer tap water to that bottled still stuff that often tastes like phosphate or calcium or something. And I simply don't like water that "fizzes".

But I have never had a problem in Belgium asking in French "une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plais".

Patrick, you give me courage. Right, straight to the Grande Place and half a litre of tapwater.

Could it be that Calimari s dastardly Italian waiters are popping a little bleach into esch glass in the kitchen, to discourage drinkers ?

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There are several threads covering the topics of how to order tap water in Italy, whether to drink tap water in Italy, and whether it's polite to ask for tap water in a restaurant. The search function is pretty bad, but I did find a few of these threads, probably more than you wanted:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34422455

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34435149

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1306212

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1306212

Hi Patrick,
I really do not know what to tell you. I guess you have just been somewhat lucky that you did not get bad tasting water. Many of those old building still have lead in the pipes or pipes that are very, very old. Most Italians in fact I do not know a single one would never drink water from the tap. My husbands grandmother scolded me once for doing so. The home is 600 years old and the pipes are never replaced or repaired at the same time with the same type of pipe. While it may taste fine to you, there very well may be hidden dangers. If you are advised against drinking it, then there is no benefit to pushing the issue.

As far a restaurants, well we owned one in Florence and we never served tap water for a couple of reasons. 1). it was not safe for the clients
2). It had an offensive odor and flavour and 3). Why give something away when you can charge for it...especially if it is to a table of people splitting their entire meal...that was a joke by the way. I suppose the waiter insisted on serving you bottled because he could not fathom the idea of drinking from the tap.

By the way, it is ok to cook with since it is boiled first.

Boiling won't take care of the lead or other heavy metals, though.

And what about bathing in water with lead or other scary things in it?

The amount of lead anyone would get from drinking water from lead pipes on a two-week vacation wouldn't have any health impacts. For residents, it's a different story.

Like anyplace else in the world, the local water in some areas does have an unpleasant taste. Depends a lot on the source of the water and the purification method used.

In an email from the US Embassy in Rome:

The U.S. Embassy in Rome informs Americans residing and traveling in Italy that Italian authorities are investigating several cases of bottled water poisoning which have occurred in various locations throughout Italy. None of these incidents has proven lethal to persons drinking the water. The bottled water sold in supermarkets, small stores and vending machines, has been contaminated with either bleach or a detergent introduced by a needle or syringe into the top part of the plastic bottle or through the cap.

Italian authorities recommend that consumers:

1. Closely examine all liquid and food containers for any perforations or signs of tampering
2. Turn containers upside down to see if any liquid drips out
3. Shake bottles to check for foam which might form as a result of contamination with detergent
4. Report any suspected contaminated containers to police authorities by telephoning 112 or 113

Tap water has not been reported in any cases of water poisoning. Recently, a carton of milk was found to have perforations and concern about contamination has expanded to include milk.

If you believe you have ingested a poisoned substance, call the Poison Control Center (Centro Anti-Veleni) at Gemelli Hospital in Rome: 06-305-4343 or Policlinico Hospital: 06-490-663 in Rome, contact a local hospital in the town you are visiting or residing, or call the Poison Control Center in Washington at 001-202-625-3333.

Please share this information with your American family member, friends and contacts.

The U.S. Embassy Consular Section is located at Via Boncompagni 2 in Rome. U.S. Consulates are located in:
Milan: Via Principe Amadeo 2/10
Florence: Via Lungarno Vespucci 38
Naples: Piazza della Repubblica

THat is very valuable information and I sincerely thank you for making this information available to everyone, however the idea of someone trying to get through over the phone to any type of "Italian authority" is funny to me. Sadly, anyone who belives that they have been poisioned and wants to phone "authorities" may die trying. I would say, go directly to the nearest hospital!

Follow the advice noted in Betsy's posting.

Funny about restaurants refusing to serve tap water...we ate at a mediocre restaurant by the Rome train station and we swear they kept refilling the same Pellegrino bottle with tap water, even though we were paying for new bottles.

I wouldn't worry about bathing in water with a little lead in it. I would worry about drinking it, cooking with it, and especially letting children consume it.

Do Italian restaurants cook with bottled water? If so, with gas or without gas?

Rufus most restaurants cook with tap water. But to answer your other question, some Italian cooks have gas and some don't. Mainly depends on their diet.

Actually, I was referring to Will's caution against cooking with tap water. I know restaurants don't cook with bottled water--you'd have trouble eating in Italy or anywhere else if you insisted that wherever you eat they don't cook with tap water. Though I guess if you offered to pay enough to have them cook with bottled water, they might accomodate you.

I remember sitting on the Ponte Vecchio one sunny afternoon, reading an article that said that Italy had some of the cleanest water in Europe. Just then someone upstairs flushed the illegal toilet, i looked out the window of the shop to watch the fishermen in their tiny boats bobbing around the Arno while they got plummeted by raw sewage. Ya! Really clean water! HA!

You think calling a plummer here in the US is expensive, try having pipes replaced in a mid- evil palazzo. Not too many people can afford that invoice. Go ahead and drink the tap if it tastes good to you and you want to save $2.00, but be forewarned. I don't think lead is good for anyone, young or old.

I don't think going to Italy and eating stuff cooked with tap water is a big concern, particularly for a two-week holiday.

Sorry if I made it sound that way. I just meant that if someone does have tap water that circulates through lead pipes, which it sounds like lots of Italians do, then I would not want to consume it regularly.

However, even then, if the water was only used for cooking, and then drained off (like say for pasta), I suspect there would be very little lead indeed.

However, I would recommend asking someone who is more versed in heavy metals than I am. I just know that low-grade lead poisoning is still a problem in some areas in the US with older housing (but from paint, not water).

Of course, hundreds of millions of people survived lead pipe plumbing, leaded gasoline, and leaded paint for many, many years with no ill effects. So old lead pipes in Italy aren't something to obesess over--especially if, as Will says, you're just on vacation for a few weeks.

I do remember reading something years ago about lead pipes (like other kinds of pipes) getting a coating of minerals from the water which prevents the lead from leaching out. However, the memory is a bit vague on the details.

RufusTFirefly, surely you've heard the theory that the Roman Empire was brought down by lead poisoning? It was either that or the barbarians or .... :)

I don't know about the Roman Empire, but you can't say that there were no ill effects. In children, low-level lead poisoning causes subtle neurological deficits and may never be noticed, except the child will never reach his full potential.

Rufus. Your memory is failing you because you orderd too much tap water in Italy! See what I mean?

Calamari, I read your comment about a toilet flushing into the Arno, but I guess I don't get your point. Are you suggesting that the drinking water comes out of the Arno untreated?

Hi all,

Re the effects of lead: chronic ingestion of low levels is a very subtle poison, the effects of which are hard to measure in individuals but can be determined from the effects on large groups.

See http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/wat...oval-water.htm

If you are worried you might become a victim (highly unlikely), the simplest thing to do is buy bottled water in GLASS bottles--no tampering problems with those. You can recycle the bottles easily. A bit heavy to drag around, so bring an empty plastic bottle with you and fill er up each day from your glass bottle.
FYI, we've only been living in Belgium for 4 years, but we've never seen a carafe of tap water served in any of the restaurants we've gone to (asking in French isn't the best thing to do in Flanders, anyway, better to ask in English).

I didn't say that no one suffered ill effects. Only that millions of people over many, many years drank water from lead pipe plumbing with no ill effects, and that it's nothing to get upset about over a 2 week vacation.

Patrick -
No, drinking water does not come out of the Arno untreated. It was merely a warning that next time you are fishing in the Arno, don't look up when you pass under the Pont Vecchio! Because when a pie hits your eye, it's NOT amore!