Characterization of bottled mineral waters marketed in Poland using hierarchical cluster analysis

• HCA was used to assess chemical profile of sparkling and still bottled water.
• Spatial variation of springs and wells of mineral water in Poland was outlined.
• Analytical verification of label declared composition of water is necessary.

Forty seven different brands of sparkling and still mineral bottled water were collected from supermarkets in Poland and analyzed by the use of ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma. The database consisted of mass concentration of ions (F−, Cl−, NO3−, PO43 −, SO42 −, Na+, K+, Mg2 + and Ca2 +), metal content (V, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, Te, Ba, Tl, Pb, Bi, Ga, Mo, U, Cr and Sb), pH and electrolytic conductivity. Moreover, declared concentration of F−, Cl−, NO3−, PO43 −, SO42 −, Na+, K+ and Mg2 + were noted from the labels. Taking into account major ionic components only two brands were characterized by large concentration of Cl− and Na+, which were above the threshold values. Springs located in the Tatra Mountain and the Sudetes provided water of the highest mineralization. Three brands of water were statistically different from others in accordance with the content of trace metals. They were Słotwinka (Ba), Rasa Druskienniki (As) and Kryniczanka (Mg, Ni). The mean level of F−, Cl−, SO42 −, Na+, K+, Mg2 +, Ca2 + were found as 0.3, 41.8, 26.7, 34.7, 5.0, 23.1 and 80.1 mg/L respectively, which were significantly different than the mean concentration of these elements declared by the manufacturer.