Our office has spent the last few months looking at the evidence around nitrates in our drinking-water, including whether there are any likely health impacts. We’ve summarised this evidence over on our webpage Nitrates in drinking-water.

Nitrates are substances that are commonly found in drinking-water and have generally been considered safe to consume at low levels (as is the case for many other substances found in our drinking-water). Recently, the level of nitrates in drinking-water has received increasing attention in Aotearoa and there is a growing body of research that has focused attention on investigating the potential association between nitrates in drinking-water and various health concerns. There is a trend of increasing levels of nitrates in drinking-water in some areas of the country so it’s important we understand any potential health concerns that could be impacted by this trend.

Read more about what review found here.

I would like to once again thank the more than twenty peer reviewers who have provided us with feedback throughout the process of producing this summary. We are grateful for the time, effort and expertise that we are able to draw on while we undertake our research, both in nitrates and across our broader work programme.

Ngā manaakitanga,

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