DRINKING WATER FOR CHILDREN: STATUS OF LEGISLATIVE PROVISION AND MONITORING OF COMPLIANCE WITH HYGIENE REQUIREMENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2786-9067-2026-31-3Keywords:
drinking water for children, hygienic requirements, physiological usefulness of mineral compositionAbstract
Given the physiological characteristics of children's bodies, their relative need for water is several times higher than that of adults, which indicates the need to pay special attention to the quality indicators of water intended specifically for consumption by children.
The purpose of the work was to review and summarize the legislative acts of Ukraine and scientific sources relating to hygienic requirements for drinking water intended for consumption by children, as well as to determine the quality indicators of drinking water for children sold on the domestic market. Experimental studies of 8 samples of packaged drinking water for children from birth were conducted for 14 indicators, including organoleptic and sanitary-chemical indicators. The quality of the samples was also assessed for indicators of the physiological usefulness of the mineral composition of drinking water. It was established that the requirements of basic domestic legislative documents regulating the quality of drinking water apply to drinking water intended for all segments of the population without differentiation by age groups. At the same time, restrictions are introduced regarding the choice of water supply sources, methods of processing and packaging of drinking water intended for children aged 0 to 3 years. The conducted experimental studies showed that the indicators, which are standardized according to the general sanitary and sanitary-toxicological criteria, comply with the established requirements. At the same time, the mineral composition of all the studied water samples did not meet the physiological needs of the human body, namely: the sodium content did not reach the lower limit of the norm of physiological usefulness in one water sample (12,5 %), calcium – in two samples (25 %), magnesium – in three samples (37,5 %), potassium – in five (62,5 %), fluoride – in all the studied samples (100 %). In most water samples (75 %), an almost doubled sodium content was observed.
To comply with the requirements for the physiological value of the mineral composition of drinking water for children, special attention must be paid to the choice of the water supply source, as well as the method of water production.
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