The Department of Agriculture and Food s Division of Regulatory Services regulates the industry. UDAF inspectors work to keep the product safe and make sure that companies don t go overboard with misleading labels. Bottled water in Utah is among the safest in the country. The department regularly inspects the 14 companies doing business in Utah and has found no serious water quality violations. Shreeve and other UDAF food safety inspectors visit each water bottling company at least twice a year, looking for proper sanitation and manufacturing practices.
Water is checked for chemicals, organics, pesticides and volatile organics.
A radiological study is even done. Guarding what goes in the bottle is Shreeve s responsibility, what goes on the bottle s label comes under the scrutiny of Claudia Gale, UDAF s Labeling Program Manager. Gale and the department acted against one company for claiming their water came from the Yellowstone National Park area, when the water actually was bottled in Salt Lake. Another company put a picture of an Indian rain dancer and the delicate arch rock formation on the bottle and implied the water came from the four corners area of Utah, when the water was actually bottled in Ogden. Bottlers who claim certain ingredients must meet federal guideline that the product actually contains those ingredients.