The European Union will not allow printed labels of drinks products to claim they offer the potential to prevent dehydration.
Drinks manufacturers have been banned from saying on their printed labels that water can prevent dehydration.
A meeting of 21 scientists in Parma for the European Union carried out a three-year investigation and concluded there is no proof that consuming water can control the medical problem, as reduced water content in the body is only a symptom.
Consequently, drinks companies must remove such claims from their packaging as of next month or face prosecution and potential imprisonment.
Roger Helmer, a Conservative MEP called the decision "stupidity writ large", while the Department for Health said common sense should be exercised in potential false claims.
However, Nutrition Society spokesman Professor Brian Ratcliffe wrote in the Telegraph that he thinks the decision is correct.
"We take in water from everything that we consume as food and drink and any excess water simply increases the volume of urine that we pass ... We don't need to consume water in the form of mineral or tap water," he explained.
Denny Bros Ltd, 23 November 2011
