What the Words on a Water Label Actually Mean

Updated September 4, 2026.

At the water shelf, several different kinds of information compete for the same few inches of label. A source name tells a story about origin. A treatment term describes a process. A measured value gives a number. An adjective sets a mood.

Reading them separately makes the bottle easier to understand.

Source and treatment terms have specific requirements

In the United States, FDA standards define several bottled-water categories. Its consumer guide to bottled water explains these distinctions:

• Spring water comes from an underground formation that naturally discharges at the surface. Collection through a borehole has additional source and equivalence requirements.
• Artesian well water comes from a well tapping a pressurized aquifer; it need not flow unaided from the bottle's collection system.
• Mineral water comes from an underground source, has at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids, and has source-derived minerals that cannot be added later.
• Purified water describes water treated by suitable processes, such as distillation or reverse osmosis, that meets the applicable standard. It is not simply a promise that absolutely everything has been removed.

These are summaries, not every condition in the regulations. Their key lesson is that a category depends on more than a favorable-sounding name.

“Contains minerals” is not the same as “mineral water”

The distinction is especially important when discussing a deep-sea source. A dissolved-solids value above 250 ppm does not, by itself, establish eligibility for the U.S. mineral-water category. The underground-source requirement still matters.

Our Recovery material describes a deep-sea intake off Sokcho. That origin should not be confused with an underground source, and its mineral concentration alone does not establish the FDA-defined category. A product's legal identity must follow its actual source, manufacturing process, and applicable labeling requirements.

You can still discuss a measured mineral profile accurately. “The published profile lists magnesium at this concentration” is a different statement from assigning a regulated product category.

Brand language is not a free pass

“Premium” is not a measured mineral specification. That does not make every statement around it unverifiable or exempt from truthfulness requirements.

An exact pH can be measured. A source location can be documented. A statement that a water hydrates better or removes a health risk is an objective claim requiring appropriate support. The FTC evaluates the overall message—including implications—not only the isolated words a company chooses. FTC: health-products claims guidance

The helpful distinction is therefore not “regulated words are real; everything else is meaningless.” Ask what each statement claims and what evidence would establish it.

Read the bottle in four passes

1. Identify the product. Which expression, size, and current label are you looking at?
2. Separate origin from treatment. Does the source description explain where the water begins, while other information explains what happens before bottling?
3. Check the units. Per-liter composition is not the same as the amount in one serving. A pH number is not a mineral dose.
4. Follow the evidence. Look for product-specific analysis, sample dates, methods, and qualifications, rather than assuming an attractive label establishes them.

For Unbelievable, the Certifications page separates Recovery's published profile and testing summaries from Reserve's preliminary information. Our product FAQ explains why those records should not be combined.

There is room on a premium bottle for both character and facts. The character invites you to try it; the facts should help you make an informed choice.

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Correction: The previous version omitted the underground-source requirement for mineral water, incorrectly treated Recovery's dissolved-solids level as sufficient to establish that category, and overstated the freedom attached to marketing terms. Those passages have been corrected.