Poland Spring
Encyclopedia
Bottled water
Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not...
manufactured by a subsidiary of Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
and sold in the United States. It was founded in 1845 by Hiram Ricker. Despite the name, the water does not come from the country of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Poland Spring water is derived from multiple sources in the state of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, including Poland Spring and Garden Spring in Poland
Poland, Maine
Poland is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,866 at the 2000 census. Home to Range Ponds State Park, Poland is a historic resort area...
, Clear Spring in Hollis
Hollis, Maine
Hollis is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,281 at the 2010 census. Hollis is a rural bedroom community of Portland and is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:...
, Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg, Spruce Spring in Pierce Pond Township, and White Cedar Spring in Dallas Plantation. Recently, the Poland Spring brand has adopted a bottle using 30% less plastic, as did the other Nestlé Waters North America brands.
It is the top-selling spring water brand in America.
Origin
Dyspepsia
Dyspepsia , also known as upset stomach or indigestion, refers to a condition of impaired digestion. It is a medical condition characterized by chronic or recurrent pain in the upper abdomen, upper abdominal fullness and feeling full earlier than expected when eating...
. The inn had grown to a resort, and his discussions with guests led them to also praise the drinking water. In this period, it was quite fashionable to "take the waters" for almost all illnesses, causing an uptick in business. The Rickers soon began bottling the water. The inn grew into a significant resort in the late 19th and early 20th century, but the Ricker family lost control of the company during the 1930s. A resort is still operated on the site.
Water sales
In 1891 Maine's Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics listed 81 existing mineral springs. Twenty-three were used for commercial bottling, with total sales of $400,000. $200,000 of these sales were by Poland Spring.Today Poland Spring sells the majority of its water in portable 8, 12, and 20 oz bottles; 500 ml, 700 ml, 1 L, and 1.5 L bottles, but also carries larger 5 gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
bottles usable in office or in home water dispensers. Smaller 1 gallon and 2.5 gallon bottles are also available for sale in most supermarkets, and for home delivery in the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. Other less popular varieties of Poland Spring include sparkling
Carbonated water
Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....
, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
, lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
, and distilled
Distilled water
Distilled water is water that has many of its impurities removed through distillation. Distillation involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean container.-History:...
. They are also the producers of the Aquapod
Aquapod
Aquapod, manufactured by Nestlé Waters North America, is a non-carbonated natural spring water, targeted towards children. It is packaged in an orb-shaped 11-ounce bottle.-Brands:Aquapod is available in the following brands:*Arrowhead*Deer Park...
line of products.
All Poland Spring products are sold in plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
bottles, for both safety and economical reasons.
The three and five gallon Poland Spring bottles made from the number "7" polycarbonate plastic contain Bisphenol-A
Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, along with other applications....
(BPA).
In the summer of 2005, Poland Spring changed the color of its 1 gallon bottle cap from dark green to clear. The reason for the color change was to remove the dye from the cap, which allows it to enter the recycling stream. Poland Spring later changed to a lighter bottle called the Eco-Shape which uses 30 percent less plastic. The new style made its début in November 2007.
Controversies
Several towns in Maine have objected to the business practices of Poland Spring and its parent company NestléNestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
. In some towns, such as Fryeburg, Maine, Poland Spring actually buys the water (110 million gallons of water from Fryeburg a year) from another company, the Fryeburg Water Co.
Fryeburg Water Co.
The Fryeburg Water Company is a privately-owned utility in the town of Fryeburg, Maine. The water company operates Evergreen Spring, which provides a sizable amount of the water used by Poland Spring.-Controversy:The Fryeburg Water Co...
, and ships it to the Poland Spring bottling plant in Poland Spring. However, Fryeburg Water Co. also sells water to the town of Fryeburg.
The town of Fryeburg began to question the amount of water the company was selling to Poland Spring. In 2004, the town's water stopped temporarily because of a pump failure, but Poland Spring's operations were able to continue. The group H2O for ME wants to create a tax on water drawn for commercial purposes, however, Poland Spring said the tax would force the company into bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. State congressman Jim Wilfong proposed a 20 cent per gallon tax be allowed to be voted on in a referendum, but the measure was defeated. He also believes that laws should be rearranged to place limits on the amount of groundwater landowners can pump out of their land.
The town of Sterling, Massachusetts
Sterling, Massachusetts
Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 7,808 at the 2010 census.- History :Sterling was first settled by Europeans in 1720 and was officially incorporated in 1781....
is attempting to prevent Poland Spring (Nestlé) from pumping spring water from conservation restricted town land. Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) has responded to an RFP issued by the Town of Clinton to purchase the Town of Clinton's Wekepeke aquifer water rights located in Sterling.
In June 2003, Poland Spring was sued for false advertising
False advertising
False advertising or deceptive advertising is the use of false or misleading statements in advertising. As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or...
in a class action lawsuit charging that their water that supposedly comes from springs, is in fact heavily treated common ground water. The suit also states, hydro-geologists hired by Nestlé found that another current source for Poland Spring water near the original site stands over a former trash and refuse dump, and below an illegal disposal site where human sewage was sprayed as fertilizer for many years. The suit was settled in September 2003, with the company not admitting to the allegations, but agreeing to pay $10 million in charity donations and discounts over the next 5 years. Nestlé continues to sell the same Maine water under the Poland Spring name.