By J.D. Williams

When stocking your store for emergency preparedness-minded customers, it pays to have a good selection of storable food and beverages available. MREs are very popular, but your customers will appreciate a variety of options for their pantries and bugout bags. There are few viable options available for storable water. While there are many different containers and filters available for a preexisting water source, if one is looking for a bottled water equivalent that will store for a long time, there aren’t nearly as many options. One of those options is the Blue Can, by Blue Can Bottling.

Each Blue Can is the size of a typical 12oz aluminum soda can. In accordance with the FDA requirements, the cans have an epoxy coating on the inside to protect the contents from the metal. This keeps your water from having any metallic taste. The water itself is pressurized when placed in the can, and that’s after it has been put through a 12-step multi-stage filtering process, dual reverse osmosis and micron traps. This water has been put through the works to ensure maximum purity.

I chilled a can in the freezer for about half an hour. After popping the lid and taking a swig, I didn’t notice any real difference between it and bottled water. It did get cold a lot faster than a bottle of water, because of the metal can.

It is widely known that over time, bottled drinking water runs a risk of chemicals from the bottles seeping into the water, which will affect the taste and purity. This is especially true if it is not stored in ideal conditions. The advantage of Blue Can is that the storage conditions are not nearly as exacting. The temperature range of storage is wider (40F to 150F), and it can be stored in sunlight without any effect on the water.

These cans will appeal not only to customers who are preparedness minded, but also to hikers, campers and outdoors enthusiasts who are discerning about the quality of the water they take with them on their outdoors expeditions. The cans can be ordered directly from the manufacturer in six packs (which come with a free cooler), 24-pack cases and 100-case pallets. You can also order a special blue barrel that contains ten 24 packs.

To order or to get more information, contact Gem Defense at 231-638-9896 or email gemdefsol@gmail.com.