1.     INTRODUCTION

On the direction of Federal Minister for Science & Technology, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has undertaken a fresh evaluation of quality of mineral/bottled water brands available in the market. For this evaluation, 22 brands of mineral/bottled water being marketed in Islamabad and Rawalpindi were collected in December 2003. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and National Institute of Health (NIH) jointly undertook the analysis at the end of January 2004. In order to make the water quality testing process transparent, PCRWR collected mineral/bottled water samples randomly from public utility stores of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in collaboration with Local Administration (Magistrate) and Food Control Authorities. A set of four samples of each brand was collected and sealed at site. Out of these, one sealed sample was handed over to the shopkeeper at that very moment, the second sample was brought to the PCRWR laboratory for analysis, and third sample was sent to NIH laboratory for quality analysis verification, whereas the fourth sample was preserved in the water-testing laboratory of PCRWR. Codes were allotted to each brand for transparency and secrecy. The details of these codes allotted are given at Table-1. Each water sample was analyzed for 80 water quality parameters comprising Alkalinity, Aluminum, Arsenic, Bicarbonate, Bismuth, Boron, Beryllium, Cadmium, Calcium, Carbonate, Cerium, Chloride, Chromium, Cobalt, Color, Conductivity, Copper, Dysprosium, Erbium, Europium, Fluoride, Free Chlorine, Gadolinium, Gallium, Germanium, Hafnium, Hardness, Holmium, Indium, Iridium, Iron, Lanthanum, Lead, Lithium, Lutetium, Magnesium, Manganese, Mercury, Molybdenum, Neodymium, Nickel, Niobium, Nitrate (N), Odour,Palladium, pH, Platinum, Potassium, Praseodymium, Rhodium, Rubidium, Ruthenium, Rhenium, Samarium, Scandium, Selenium, Silver, Sodium, Strontium, Sulphate, Tantalum, Taste, TDS, Tellurium, Terbium, Thallium, Thorium, Thulium, Tin, Titanium, Total Chlorine, Tungsten, Turbidity, Vanadium, Ytterbium, Yttrium, Zinc, Zirconium Total Coliforms and E.Coli in the PCRWR water quality laboratory at Islamabad. However, the analysis of pesticides, radiological, organic chemicals and some microbiological parameters like fecal streptococci, enterobacter, salmonella etc. could not be carried out due to lack of facilities. The standard analytical methods were adopted for the determination of aesthetic, physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality parameters. The water sample collection team comprised of the following members:

1.     Two technical members from PCRWR

2.     One member from Administration i.e. City Magistrate

3.     One member from Food Control Authority

2.       METHODOLOGY

2.1       Sampling of Mineral/Bottled Water Brands

Twenty-two minerals/bottled water brands were collected from different locations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The details in this regard are available at Table-1:

Table-1 Monitoring of Mineral/Bottled Water Brands

2.2       Water Quality Parameters and Methods Used For Analysis

2.2.1    Physico-Chemical Parameters

Standard methods were used for the analysis of physico-chemical water quality parameters. Details of the methods used are given in Table-2.

Table-2 Water Quality Parameters and Methods Used for Analysis

Analysis of Arsenic on Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS)

Analysis of Trace Elements on Inductive Coupled Plasma Spectrometer (ICP)

Analysis of Iron on Spectrophotometer

2.2.2    Bacteriological Parameters

Bacteriological quality of water samples was determined by using “Defined Substrate Technology (Colilert) Method.” It is a standard method for enumeration of Total Coliforms and E.coli simultaneously in the water and wastewater. Five colilert tubes containing colilert reagent were inoculated for each sample under aseptic conditions. After an incubation period of 24 hours at 35+0.5^oC, observations were made for color change and inflorescence. Presence of yellow color indicates the presence of total coliforms. Fluorescence was checked by placing the UV lamp (3-5 inch in size) in front of the tubes in a dark environment.

Determination of E.Coli by Inflorescence

Presence of fluorescence in the tubes indicates the presence of E.coli. Density of Total Coliforms and E.coli was determined with reference to the Standard Most Probable Number (MPN) probability chart (Table-3).

Table-3 Maximum Probable Number of Organisms per 100ml Sample

3.       Result and Discussions

During the sample collection period, 11 brands namely Niagra, Masafi, Rainbow, Safa, Zamzam, Fresh, Musaffa, Wellgreen, Aqua Flow, Himalaya, Brecon Carreg (available in 2001) were disappeared from the market while 13 new brands namely Natural, ICE Berg, Everest, BSW, Bahrain, ISIS, OAS, TWS, Bisler, Kashmir, Askari, H₂O Plus and Classic appeared in the market. Only eight brands i.e. Sparklets, Aab-e-Hayat, Cool, Perrier, Pearl, Nestle, Evian and AVA showed consistency in marketing their products.

A sample of 22 available mineral/bottled water brands was collected and analyzed for the quality evaluation (Table-1). All together 80 water quality parameters were analysed. These include 78 physico-chemical and 2 microbiological parameters. Details of the parameters analysed are given at Annexure-I. Comparison of claimed and labeled values was also made (Annexure-I). Sixteen brands out of 22 (72.72%) i.e. Sparklets, Nestle, H₂O Plus, Natural, Everest, Cool, Aab-e-Hayat, ISIS, AVA, Askari, Classic, Ice Berg, Evian, Perrier, Kashmir and Bisler were found free from bacteriological contamination. The remaining 6 brands (27.27%) i.e. Bahrain, Pearl, Aqua Safe, BSW, OAS and TWS were found bacteriologically contaminated. The details are shown in Table-4.

Table-4 Total Coliform and E.Coli in the Unsafe Brands

The chemical analysis has shown variations ranging from -840 to 1700% (minus percentage means < claimed values) between the claimed and actual values. Details are given in Annexure-III. Unfortunately, the firms that reflect more interest in money making than quality control measures have labeled chemical composition arbitrarily. The chemical analysis showed that seven brands were contaminated with arsenic while the other seven brands had higher sodium content. Moreover, one brand i.e., Askari had high fluoride contents  (4.7 ppm) than that WHO guidelines (1.5 ppm). The details are given in Table-5 and 6.

Table-5 Brands contaminated with Arsenic

Table-6 Brands exceeding Sodium contents

* PAKISTAN STANDARDS: PS-4639-2002 (Specification for Bottled Drinking Water (1^st Rev)

The concentration of useful and essential minerals present in mineral/bottled water brands is also tabulated below and shown in Table-7. All brands were found to be below the specified limits of fifty-six trace and ultra-trace elements analyzed on Inductive Coupled Plasma Spectrometer (ICP). Results in this connection are presented at Annexure-II.

Table-7 Essential Useful Trace And Ultra-Trace Elements

Overall, one brand i.e. Aqua Safe that was found contaminated chemically as well as microbiologically. However, twelve brands (54.54%) were found unsafe for human consumption due to poor chemical or microbiological quality. Details in this regard are given in Table-8.

Table-8 Unsafe Mineral/Bottled Water Brands

4.       Recommendations

1.      The present unwanted situation of water quality of mineral/bottled water brands is due to improper enforcement of quality standard by the concerned department. An independent agency with legal status should be nominated for frequent monitoring of mineral/bottled water brands.

2.      There should be a uniform system for internal quality control, external quality assessment and hygienic practices in all water industry. The source of each industry should also be properly assessed and certified by an authorized agency.

3.      The maximum permissible limits specified by PSQCA for some water quality parameters like sodium and potassium i.e. 30 ppm for each is not based on scientific grounds. It should be realistic and on the basis of logical approach. Moreover, the standards for arsenic should be 50 ppb instead of 10 ppb for at least one decade as adopted by many countries like India, Indonesia, Singapur, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Korea, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Argentina and Mexico.

4.      The type of product in accordance with Standard Definitions for various kinds of waters given by IBWA & FDA (Annexure-IV) must be printed on the label of each brand. Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) can play an influential role in this regard.