[Legal requirements, quality criteria, therapeutic interest and dietetics of mineral waters: study of the case of the natural mineral water of Evian].

The considerable increase in mineral water sales as a daily drink reflects more or less the continued confidence in spa treatments, and this has caused the Public Authorities to set up very strict regulations in this field. We explain the main provisions of these regulations, compare mineral water with ordinary drinking water and complete this report with a study on the representative case of Evian Mineral water since it is the most exported water in the world. We emphasize the key points regarding the origin of the water which must be very well protected, its mineralization leading to its part played in dietetics and daily consumption, its use in spas and the research on its therapeutic effects, its bottling and the controls enabling its original high quality to be maintained. The conclusion reviews the motivations for the mineral water consumer: taste, quality, favorable effects on health. These motivations linked together have a varying importance according to the persons or situations involved. They result in precise requirements to be met by the producing companies in three fields: quality, advertising, credibility and scientific research.