PCRWR declares 13 brands of bottled water as unsafe

Islamabad:Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) in its quarterly report has declared 13 brands of bottled water as unsafe for human consumption.

According to the comparison of test results with permissible limits of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), 13 brands were unsafe for human consumption. For the last quarter (October to December, 2020), 119 samples of bottled/ mineral water brands were collected from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Gilgit, D. G. Khan, Multan, Faisalabad, Karachi, Bahawalpur, Tando Jam, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad and Lahore.

Five brands (i.e. MASKOOB, Blue Life, ONE, Dropice, Blue Plus) were found to be unsafe due to presence of higher levels of sodium ranging from 64-100 mg/L than PSQCA bottled water quality standard for Sodium (50 mg/L).

Three brands (i.e. MASKOOB, Al Safa, Pure Nature) were found unsafe due to presence of high level of Arsenic ranging from 14-29 µg/L than PSQCA water quality standard for Arsenic (10 µg/L).

Two brands (i.e. Aqua SWAG, More Plus) were found unsafe due to presence of low level of pH. Four brands (i.e. McWay Water, Pristin One, Alkaline Water, Aqua Star) were found micro biologically contaminated and thus were unsafe. The detailed report is available on PCRWR website www.pcrwr.gov.pk.

The government through the Ministry of Science and Technology has designated the task to the PCRWR for quarterly monitoring of bottled/mineral water brands and publicize the results in the best interest of public health.