Natural mineral water is a legally recognised category: an authority has to approve it, its composition has to stay stable, and its label has to show the analysis. Spring water is groundwater bottled at the source in its natural state, with the chemical quality of ordinary drinking water. Neither is automatically healthier than the other.
What is natural mineral water?
The EU’s Directive 2009/54/EC defines it as microbiologically wholesome water from an underground water table or deposit, emerging from a spring. What sets it apart from ordinary drinking water is its mineral content, trace elements or other constituents, and its original purity, preserved because the source is underground and protected from pollution.
Three practical rules follow. The water has to be recognised as natural mineral water by the responsible authority. Its composition and temperature have to stay stable within natural fluctuation. And the label has to carry the analytical composition, the name of the spring and the place where it is exploited. Treatment is tightly limited, and disinfection is not allowed.
Norway applies the same framework through a national regulation, the Forskrift om naturlig mineralvann og kildevann, which lists the EU directive as its EEA reference. Natural mineral water produced in Norway has to be approved by Mattilsynet, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
What is spring water?
The directive reserves the term “spring water” for water intended for human consumption in its natural state and bottled at the source. It has to meet the same microbiological requirements, show the name of the spring and the place it is exploited on the label, and avoid any treatment beyond the limited list. On top of that, it has to comply with the EU drinking water directive.
The Norwegian regulation defines spring water, kildevann, as water of good microbiological quality from a groundwater body protected against any risk of pollution, and adds that it is characterised by chemical quality like ordinary drinking water. Spring water produced in Norway also needs Mattilsynet’s approval.
What treatment is allowed?
Very little, and that is part of the point of both categories. Under the directive, a natural mineral water can only have unstable elements such as iron and sulphur compounds separated out by filtration or decanting, possibly after oxygenation, provided the essential constituents don’t change. Iron, manganese, sulphur compounds and arsenic can also be removed with ozone-enriched air under conditions set by the Commission, and free carbon dioxide can be removed by physical means. Nothing can be added, apart from carbon dioxide under set conditions, and any disinfection is prohibited.
Spring water follows the same short list of permitted treatments, with the Commission able to authorise others. The Norwegian regulation mirrors this in its section 5. If a label ever says a water was “purified” or “enhanced”, it is describing something different from either category.
So what is the real difference?
It comes down to what the water has to prove. A natural mineral water has to show a distinctive, stable mineral character and be recognised for it. A spring water has to be clean, protected and unaltered, and it doesn’t have to have a particular mineral profile.
That also changes what can go on the label. Only natural mineral waters can use the indications listed in the directive’s Annex III, such as “very low mineral content” (fixed residue up to 50 mg/l) or “suitable for a low-sodium diet” (sodium below 20 mg/l). And the directive forbids using the description “mineral water” on packaged drinking water that doesn’t meet the natural mineral water definition. When a Norwegian brand is called “mineral water” in a search result, check whether it is actually recognised as one.
Is mineral water healthier than spring water?
Nothing in the directive says so. It explicitly prohibits attributing properties of preventing, treating or curing a human illness to natural mineral water, apart from the few authorised indications. Annex I says the characteristics of a mineral water may give it properties favourable to health, but that is a list of what must be assessed, not a promise that it is better for you.
If you want to compare two waters, compare their analyses. We walk through how to do that, using real numbers, in our guide to reading a bottled water analysis.
Where does FRØYA fit?
The Eurofins report behind the analysis page marks the sample as “Eau de source / Spring water”. FRØYA describes its source as pure groundwater from Vassryggen in Forsand, Norway. We don’t call it natural mineral water anywhere on this site, and we won’t claim a legal status beyond what the report says.
What we can offer is the data: calcium 16 mg/l, magnesium 1.1 mg/l, sodium 4.8 mg/l, chloride 8.5 mg/l, sulfate 5.0 mg/l and pH 7.9, from a sample taken in March 2018. For the geology behind the source, see our post on glacial water and the story page.
What should you look for on a label?
- The sales description: “natural mineral water” or “spring water”. Other names, like “mineral water” used loosely, deserve a second look.
- The spring’s name and where it is exploited. Both are mandatory for the two legal categories.
- For natural mineral water, the analytical composition on the label.
- Any claim such as “low sodium”. Check whether the water is recognised as natural mineral water, because that is where the directive allows it.
Frequently asked questions
Is spring water the same as mineral water?
No. Natural mineral water is a recognised category with a stable, distinctive mineral character and a label showing its analysis. Spring water is groundwater bottled at the source in its natural state, with the chemical quality of ordinary drinking water.
Which is better, spring water or mineral water?
Neither is better by definition. The directive describes different requirements, not different levels of health benefit. Compare the published analysis of each water instead.
Can spring water be called mineral water?
Under the EU directive, packaged drinking water that does not meet the natural mineral water definition cannot be described as mineral water.
What is kildevann?
Kildevann is the Norwegian term for spring water. The Norwegian regulation defines it as water from a protected groundwater body with the chemical quality of ordinary drinking water.
Is FRØYA natural mineral water?
The Eurofins report marks the FRØYA sample as spring water, and this site does not describe FRØYA as natural mineral water.
Sources
- Directive 2009/54/EC on natural mineral waters (EUR-Lex)
- Forskrift om naturlig mineralvann og kildevann (Lovdata)
- FRØYA Eurofins analysis report AR-18-MO-004161-02 (PDF, three pages)
- FRØYA Water: water analysis page
- FRØYA Water: the story
Figures for FRØYA come from Eurofins report AR-18-MO-004161-02 (sample taken 20 March 2018, report dated 11 April 2018), which covers one sample. Figures for other brands are taken from the pages linked above and may have changed since. This article is general information about water, not medical advice.
