16 bottled water brands declared unsafe

Islamabad : Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has declared 16 brands of bottled/mineral water as unsafe for human consumption, as per its quarterly monitoring report.

The government through 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 public interest.

For the last quarter (October to December, 2021), 181 samples of mineral/bottled water brands were collected from 22 cities. Comparison of test results with the permissible limits of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has revealed that 16 brands were unsafe for human consumption. Thirteen brands were found to be unsafe due to presence of higher levels of sodium than the permissible limit.

One brand was found unsafe due to presence of high level of arsenic, two brands were found unsafe due to presence of high level of potassium and two brands were found unsafe due to presence of high level of TDS. Four brands were found microbiologically contaminated and thus were unsafe for drinking purpose. The detailed report is available on PCRWR website www.pcrwr.gov.pk