O my god
Safeway's O Organics brand jumps the shark, with — wait for it — certified organic bottled water.
I forgot to look where it was bottled. Betcha it's filtered tap water with a squirt of organic citrus. For $1!
Oct. 17 update: Commenter John W. says "this product is not associated with O Organics as a little bit of homework would have quickly revealed. they have their own website and don't claim to be organic."
He is correct. Although I looked all over the O Organics site, it never even crossed my mind — given the similarity of the labels and the proximity of the O Organics shelf info tag — that it was a wholly different brand. Someone at the company might want to tell Safeway to stop claiming it by proxy.
Comments
By Melanie on October 7th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Oh my god, is right. That's too much.
By Steve on October 7th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. Finally, a mix of hydrogen and oxygen that won't leave me worrying.
By derrick on October 7th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
I hope this isn't a dumb question, Bullet 4: "No Genetic Modification" - can you genetically modify water?
By Jack on October 7th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Wow, that tag makes it sound like the rest of the waters are poisonous! Woohoo!!!
By jube on October 8th, 2007 at 1:08 am
hehe!
the water cannot be modified but the lemons can be
...i know, is ridiculous
By Jennifer (The Baklava Queen) on October 8th, 2007 at 4:11 am
It's the growth hormones (or lack thereof) that has me wondering... Do you think that would really work with water? I mean, if I feed growth hormones to my trickly showerhead, will I get an in-house waterfall? That could be great for me, but not so great for my downstairs neighbors...
Just when you thought marketing couldn't get any sillier...
By Kim on October 8th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Yes, but is it cholesterol free?
By Jack on October 8th, 2007 at 9:39 am
I still like the way this tag implies that the other waters they sell are: not organic, laced with growth hormones, sprayed with synthetic pesticides and are GMO-modified. You know, waters like Aquafina, Dasani, Evian, Fuji and Calistoga.
By AJ on October 8th, 2007 at 10:54 am
it makes me laugh...it makes me cry.
By Sam Fromartz on October 8th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
You cannot certify water under US organic regs. Did they name their certifier?
By Sam Fromartz on October 8th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I think they are just using the "O" brand as another bit of consumer obfuscation. I assume they do not use the word "organic" on the label.
By Bonnie P. on October 8th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
The water is not on the O Organics website for me to check whether it was actually certified, or whether it's just under the brand name (if so, isn't that misrepresentation? the shelf signage certainly seems to indicate it's certified — and wasn't Wal-Mart sued by Cornucopia for just this sort of thing?)
Great — I was just passing through for a little unrelated research project, and now I guess I need to go back in order to answer my own questions.
By Mental Masala on October 9th, 2007 at 9:29 am
It seems to me that many are missing the point. It's not the water that is certified or claimed to be organics, it's the added flavorings like lemon and lime extract that are certified organic.
However, the way it is advertised is somewhat unclear and at the border of deceptive. I'd like to see exactly how the bottle is labeled before making any more judgments.
Nonetheless, the "O water" raises some interesting questions:
* Is bottled water tested for growth hormones and pesticides that might have leached into the water source from nearby conventional farms?
* Should water companies be tuning their filtering systems to remove such chemicals?
By muffintop on October 11th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
O, O, O!
What a laff.
By john w on October 17th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
this product is not associated with O Organics as a little bit of homework would have quickly revealed. they have their own website and don't claim to be organic.
By Bonnie P. on October 17th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Hi John: Yikes, I'm embarrassed to see that you are correct: O Water is not affiliated with Safeway's O Organics line. It does, however, appear the Safeway staff also thought it was -- why else would they have put the Organic info shelf-tag with it? The logos are rather similar to the casual eye.
In closing, although yes, I do feel stupid (and am putting a correction note on the post), I imagine that most consumers are not going to go home and Google "O Water" to figure out what's what before buying.
By Greg on January 4th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
There are two brands here in New Zeland promoting and selling "Organic Water", UNZ and Phoenix.
UNZ
http://www.organiclivingwater.com/
Here you can see the contents of Phoenix's Organic Sparkling Water:
http://www.phoenixorganics.co.nz/files/products/mineral_water/mineral_750.pdf
These bottles of "organic" water cost considerably more than the regular mineral water bottles.
Some suckers are buying it.
By Linda on January 16th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I purchased some O Organics Black Beans awhile ago and didn’t notice at the time that stamped on the top of the can is “PROD OF CHINA”. I will NEVER shop at Safeway again and I don’t trust any products anymore. Thanks for selling out our lovely country!!!