Why no pesticides are detectable in Piz Sardona — Explainer video

Transcript

Why no pesticides are detectable in Piz Sardona, and why, for a natural mineral water, no filter is a substitute for origin.

Whether a mineral water contains pesticides does not depend primarily on how deep the spring lies or how old the water is. It depends on what happens on the soil the rainwater seeps through.

Where there are arable fields, vegetable and fruit crops and vineyards, plant protection products are applied. In the high Alps above the tree line, there are no arable fields, no vegetable or fruit crops and no vineyards; instead there are alpine pastures, scree and rock. So the most important source of input is absent.

We deliberately say ‘not detectable’. A negative test is a snapshot, and an analysis only finds what it looks for. As an indicator of purity, the federal authorities cite a guide value for mineral water, not a maximum level: 0.1 micrograms per litre for the sum of pesticides. The law, however, requires original purity: in natural mineral water, pesticides must not occur at all, nor may they be filtered out.

The water of Piz Sardona seeps into the ground at more than 2,000 metres above sea level. In the infiltration area there are no arable fields, no vegetable or fruit crops and no vineyards. It then travels through the rock for around 12 years. According to Mineralquellen Mels AG, no pesticides are detectable in it, as the original purity of every natural mineral water requires.

The high mountains are not untouched either: livestock graze on alpine pastures in summer, and targeted treatments against individual problem plants are permitted. We therefore do not promise that nothing will ever be found. The latest laboratory report is available on request.

What sets Piz Sardona apart is the reason: no pesticides are detectable not because of the long journey, but because of the origin. No filter technology can change it after the fact. So don’t ask about the filter. Ask about the field. Where does this water seep into the ground?

More on this in the Piz Sardona Academy.