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Water for infant formula
Bottled water for making up infant formula: what the "suitable for the preparation of infant food" indication means, which figures on the label are the relevant ones, and why national infant-feeding guidance and your health visitor come before any of it.
This page explains what the figures on a label mean. It is not infant-feeding advice and it does not replace your national guidance, your health visitor, your midwife or the instructions printed on the formula tin. Formula preparation — the water, the temperature, the order things go in the bottle, the dilution — is one of the few areas where following the official instructions exactly matters a great deal. If you are unsure about anything, ask the person who is looking after you and your baby.
What the indication on the bottle is, and is not
"Suitable for the preparation of infant food" is a permitted indication for natural mineral water under Annex III of Directive 2009/54/EC. When a producer prints it, they are stating that the water meets the conditions attached to that use. It is a compositional statement about the water. It says nothing about how the feed should be prepared, and it does not override the instructions on the tin.
Equally, a water without the indication is not thereby unsuitable — many producers simply do not make the claim. What you can do in either case is read the analysis, because the figures that matter for an infant are all on the label.
The figures to look at
| Figure | What to look for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dry residue / mineralisation | Low. Under 500 mg/l is "low mineral content"; under 50 mg/l is "very low". | An infant kidney handles a smaller solute load than an adult one, and formula is already formulated to a specified mineral composition. |
| Sodium | Low. Under 20 mg/l allows the "suitable for a low-sodium diet" claim. | Formula supplies the sodium an infant needs; water should not be adding to it meaningfully. |
| Fluoride | Below 1.5 mg/l. Above that the bottle must say it is unsuitable for regular consumption under seven. | Dental fluorosis risk exists only while permanent teeth are forming. |
| Nitrate | As low as the label reports. Both bottled and tap water are capped at 50 mg/l. | Nitrate is the classic infant-specific water contaminant and is regulated tightly for that reason. |
| Sulphate | Low. Waters above 200 mg/l may be labelled “contains sulphate”. | Sulphate at high concentration has an osmotic, laxative effect. |
| Carbonation | Still only. | Carbonated water is not used for infant feeds. |
Which waters in this database look like that
| Still water, low mineral content | Residue mg/l | Sodium mg/l | Fluoride mg/l |
|---|---|---|---|
| evian | 345 | 6.5 | — |
| Volvic | 130 | 11.6 | — |
| Acqua Panna | 176 | 6.5 | — |
| Highland Spring | 130.5 est. | 6 | — |
| Buxton | 280 | 24 | — |
| Voss | 44 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Fiji Water | 222 | 18 | 0.2 |
This is a filter of the analyses on this site, not a recommendation and not a list of waters carrying the infant indication. A blank fluoride column means the producer does not publish the figure. Whether a particular bottle is appropriate for your baby is a question for the label in front of you and the people advising you.
The part that is not about the label
Two things get lost when the conversation turns into a mineral comparison. The first is that bottled water is not sterile. It is a food, produced to food-hygiene standards, but it is not sterilised, and most national guidance on powdered infant formula requires water that has been boiled and then cooled — powdered formula itself is not sterile either, and the temperature of the water is part of how that is handled. Boiling does not remove minerals or fluoride; it removes microbiological risk.
The second is dilution. The single most consequential error in formula preparation is getting the ratio of water to powder wrong, in either direction, and it has nothing to do with which water is in the jug. Follow the tin.
If you want to understand the fluoride numbers in more depth, the fluoride page sets out the three limits and where they come from. For the sodium arithmetic, see low-sodium water.
Analyses: the figures each producer publishes on the label or in its technical sheet — see the basis line on every water page. Reference intakes: EFSA Dietary Reference Values. Label claims: Directive 2009/54/EC, Annex III. Mineral-water constituent limits and the fluoride labelling rule: Directive 2003/40/EC. Tap-water parametric values: Directive (EU) 2020/2184. Checked 2026-09-06.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use bottled water to make up formula?
National infant-feeding guidance is the authority on this and it differs between countries, so follow yours and the instructions on the formula tin. The general points it will make: bottled water is not sterile, most guidance requires water that has been boiled and cooled before it is used to make up powdered formula, and a water low in mineral content and low in sodium is preferred.
What does "suitable for the preparation of infant food" mean?
It is one of the indications permitted for natural mineral water in Annex III of Directive 2009/54/EC. Where a bottle carries it, the producer is asserting that the water meets the conditions for that use. It is not a substitute for the formula manufacturer's instructions or for national guidance.
Which figures on the label matter for a baby?
Sodium and mineral content first — a low dry residue and a low sodium figure. Then fluoride: a water above 1.5 mg per litre must be labelled as unsuitable for regular consumption by children under seven. Nitrate matters too and is capped by law in both bottled and tap water.
Is sparkling water suitable?
No. Carbonated water is not used to make up infant feeds. Beyond the carbonation itself, the naturally carbonated waters tend to be the heavily mineralised ones, which is the opposite of what is wanted.
All waters compared
The full analysis table, grouped by mineral content.
Water hardness explained
Degrees, millimoles and parts per million, converted, plus what hardness does and does not do.
Low-sodium water
The 20 mg per litre label rule, and how much sodium a litre of each water really carries.
Water highest in magnesium
Every water ranked by magnesium, against the EFSA adequate intake.
Water highest in calcium
Calcium per litre ranked, and how much of a day it covers.
Bicarbonate and alkaline water
What bicarbonate is, which waters carry a lot of it, and what it comes packaged with.
Keeping track when nobody is sleeping
TempoLife is built for logging small things quickly — one tap, one line — on the days when remembering anything is the hard part.