One of the initial projects undertaken by Fluoride Free Towns, as the name suggests, was to encourage Towns to go fluoride free. Though doing this completely was a near impossible task without having the legislation repealed, a project, similar to that of the Fair Trade movement was embarked upon.
It was then decided that if six businesses in a town installed filtration in their businesses enabling the production of fluoride free food and drinks on their premises on site then they would acquire fluoride free status and in turn, if 6 businesses did so, then the town would achieve fluoride free status. Bantry and Clonakilty achieved fluoride free status as part of the campaign in 2014 with a number of other businesses having joined the campaign since. FFT wishes to thank these businesses for their decisions to go fluoride free which have proven invaluable in terms of advancing the the National Effort to rid the country of an outdated and dangerous public health policy that’s both illegal and unconstitutional.
If you’d like to join an existing Fluoride Free Towns project, please check the list below or contact us if you’d like to set a project up where you live which is a great way of increasing grassroots awareness around the country.
It is hoped that these actions will act as stepping stones for a path that will lead to a complete repeal of the Health (fluoridation of water supplies) Act 1960 where Ireland’s position to this matter will be brought in line with European precedent where not one other EU Member State enforces a similar policy on her citizens due to health, environmental, legal or ethical concerns.
Fluoride Free Businesses
(please contact us if you know of other businesses that would like to be listed here)
Fluoride Free Businesses in Bantry
Organico Café
Organico Shop
Trawl and Trend
The Fish Kitchen restaurant
The Mariner bar
Wokabout
Fluoride Free Businesses in Clonakilty
Fernhill House Hotel
The Lettercollum Kitchen Project
The Winery
Betty Brosnans
Coffee Mezzo
Jagged Edge
The Sticky Bun
Testimonials from fluoride free businesses
The Fish Kitchen Bantry
“Bantry becoming Ireland’s first town to be awarded fluoride free status is a great achievement and shows that the businesses involved in obtaining this honour are respecting their customers by offering them safe fluoride free drinking water. With many businesses in West Cork planning to follow suit by installing reverse osmosis filters this is only the beginning of a national campaign that without question will be a positive move towards improving public health.” – Diarmaid Murphy of The Fish Kitchen
Organico Shop and Café Bantry
“We are very excited to now be cooking and making drinks with delicious, pure fluoride free water. Of course we are unhappy that this costly step has been necessary but Organico’s customers are delighted and the feedback is incredibly positive. There is huge public health concern over Ireland’s mandatory water fluoridation and hopefully more and more businesses will come onboard the Fluoride Free campaign.” – Hannah Dare of Organico shop and café
Trawl & Trend Café and Tapas Bar Bantry
“Our customers are loving our new fluoride and chlorine free water to which we add rosemary to make it extra special. It has made a serious difference to our coffee and is a business move I’d highly recommend.” – Gareth Murphy of Trawl & Trend
The Lettercollum Kitchen Project Clonakilty
“We appreciate the work that the Fluoride Free team have done to highlight the campaign for a fluoride free Ireland which will improve the quality of water for everyone. We have our own well water in Timoleague so we have always noticed a big difference with the town water. The RO filter now means that we don’t have to cart our water in and out of town to drink and can make food with clean water and enjoy a tastier chemical free coffee.”
“Going fluoride free by using a reverse osmosis filter means that we don’t have to smell the town water every time that we open the tap. We’re happy that we can be confident of the quality of the food we cook and coffee that we serve. Our customers have noticed and enjoy the improved the flavour of the tea and coffee that we make.” Con McLoughlin & Karen Austin of The Lettercollum Kitchen Project
Coffee Mezzo Clonakilty
“The town water tastes terrible. That’s the reason we initially got the RO filter. The added benefit is that all our teas and coffees are now made using fluoride free water.” – Shane Kelleher of Coffee Mezzo
Fernhill House Hotel Clonakilty
Run by the O’Neill family in Clonakilty and is possibly one of Ireland’s first Fluoride Free hotels. They source their water from their own well. Michael O’Neill has supported the Fluoride Free Towns initiative from the very beginning and stated that they changed from the mains to well water due to health concerns.
The Winery Clonakilty
“The public have noticed that our coffee and tea taste much better. They are very aware of the difference.” – Aidan Harte of The Winery
Betty Brosnans Clonakilty
“In June of this year I installed a set of reverse osmosis filters to my cafes water supply to remove all fluoride from our drinking water. We now use filtered water for the coffee machine, boiler and all our cooking and drinking requirements. I must confess to being sceptical about the efficiency of the system prior to installation but was pleasantly surprised by the instant results. From a taste point of view, our teas and coffees were nicer using the filtered water. We received quite a few positive comments from customers and also were pleasantly surprised by the substantial media coverage we received as a result of the fluoride free status. The installation of the filters has been nothing but positive for my business and I would highly recommend it.” – Steve Clery of Betty Brosnans
The Sticky Bun Clonakilty
The proprietor Kay Burke ensured that all her water goes through a Reverse Osmosis filter before she even opened her doors.
Jagged Edge Hair Salon installed a reverse osmosis filter, not only for their customers but so their staff could enjoy fluoride free water in their beverages.