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I live in the northeastern United States, and have drank unflavored seltzer water (also known as club soda, sparkling water, fizzy water or effervescent water) regularly all my life. Often purchased in bulk from stores.

Recently, I have noticed that "unflavored" or "original" seltzer are noticeably flavored. Right now, I'm (ruefully) drinking a very clearly peach-flavored seltzer labelled "original" by Polar, but I've noticed this in a variety of brands, including generic ones. The flavoring is considerably weaker than in the seltzers advertised as being flavored, but still noticeable.

Has there been any news coverage of this phenomenon? (I'm new to this site but I think it's on topic here because it involves selection of ingredients).

James Risner
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John Madden
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    I am confused - what is your question? The seltzer itself is in scope, but "Has there been any news coverage" is off topic. Is there something specific you want to know about the seltzer itself? – rumtscho Oct 24 '22 at 15:35
  • @rumtscho to put it bluntly, my question is: "Am I crazy?". – John Madden Oct 24 '22 at 15:43
  • @JohnMadden I'm inclined to think it's either a mistake/contamination or you're imagining it. – Esther Oct 24 '22 at 15:48
  • @Esther Yes, surely it's a mistake rather than an insidious plot. I suppose I'm wondering if anyone else has detected this. – John Madden Oct 24 '22 at 15:52
  • I love polar seltzer, but this is an ongoing quality issue they have had for years, particularly affecting their plastic bottles, rather than their aluminum canning lines. Sadly, it's been happening for decades, so I don't expect them to change – AMtwo Oct 24 '22 at 16:17
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    I don't know that I'd consider this a "cooking" question though. Ingredient quality is an on-topic question but in it's current form this question feels more like an off-topic "rant" about a finished consumable commercial product, rather than being about cooking or ingredient quality – AMtwo Oct 24 '22 at 16:20
  • @AMtwo 1st comment) I have noticed this in the Kroger-generic aluminum cans as well. 2nd comment) I suppose this depends on whether we consider, for example, alcoholic cocktails to be recipes, since this would ruin my enjoyment of, say, a mojito. But I agree, this would be a better topic for something like a "gastronomy" SE, but I don't believe there is one. – John Madden Oct 24 '22 at 16:44
  • @AMtwo also would be very interested if you have any sources for your claim in the first comment. – John Madden Oct 24 '22 at 17:31
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    @johnmadden There is a [Beer, Wine, and Spirits](https://alcohol.stackexchange.com/) site for your mojito discussions, but not as familiar with that community. – AMtwo Oct 24 '22 at 17:57
  • @johnmadden my main source of info for Polar is just personal experience. I'm a lifelong New Englander, where Polar is headquartered & popular. As soon as I read your first sentence I knew you were talking about Polar. I've had a few employers stock Polar in the kitchen and it's been a frequent intermittent problem – AMtwo Oct 24 '22 at 18:00
  • It's possible that Kroger is having their product copacked by Polar, since Kroger likely doesn't run their production lines themselves – AMtwo Oct 24 '22 at 18:02

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