Or maybe you could, because The Express headline
is made up.
The Mail's effort,
"Now barmy EU says you CAN'T claim drinking water stops dehydration," is more accurate, but Steve Doughty writes obtusely, and his agenda is made pretty clear by his choice of 'quotees'. Or perhaps I should say
the Express's choice, since Doughty apparently used the exact same people to get remarkably similar quotes from.
So what about the actual claim? Well you can read
the EU's ruling here (PDF), and the first thing to note is that this isn't really a rule so much as a piece of advice, which member states are free to interpret as they wish. The Express finally admit this in the very last line of
their hysteria, when they eventually allow an EU spokesperson to get a line in edgeways:
"This is a specific case with specific characteristics. Either way the final decision is for member states."