Chemometric Survey of Italian Bottled Mineral Waters by Means of their Labelled Physico-chemical and Chemical Composition

Bottled mineral waters (132 samples) from 19 districts of Italy were characterized by means of the physico-chemical and chemical composition (30 parameters) reported on their label by using statistical analysis. Bottled waters showed a lack of homogeneity in the type of parameters reported in the label, the level of aluminium being reported by only five brands. The relationships among 12 selected variables were examined by principal component analysis; then, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to search the “natural” grouping among the mineral waters, and linear discriminant analysis allowed to check the reliability of classification. Mineral waters were mainly separated by the total dissolved solids content, whereas there was little association based on the geographical origin. A comparison between the water composition and the legal limit fixed by the Italian regulation for selected parameters is also discussed.