17 brands of bottled water unsafe: PCRWR

Islamabad: Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) in its first quarterly bottled water quality monitoring report for the current fiscal year 2022-23 issued here on Wednesday declared 17 brands as unsafe for human consumption due to microbial, chemical or both types of contamination.

For the quarter of the year 2022 (July to September), 165 samples of mineral/bottled water brands were collected from 20 cities. A comparison of test results with the bottled water quality standards of the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has revealed that 17 brands were unsafe for human consumption.

Nine brands were found to be unsafe due to the presence of higher levels of sodium. Two brands were found unsafe due to the presence of high level of Potassium than the permissible limit, while, seven brands were found microbiologically contaminated and thus were unsafe for drinking purpose. The general public is encouraged to look at the detailed report to know about the status of the water quality of bottled water brands they consume.

The detailed report is available on the PCRWR website www.pcrwr.gov.pk. The government has designated the task to PCRWR for quarterly monitoring of bottled/mineral water brands and publicize the results for awareness of public health.