22 brands of bottled water found unsafe

Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) on Thursday identified 22 brands of bottled water as unsafe for human consumption.

The government, through the Ministry of Science and Technology, has assigned the task to the PCRWR for quarterly monitoring of bottled or mineral water brands and publicizing the results in the best interest of public health.

For the last quarter from April to June, 180 samples of mineral or water brands were collected from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Sargodha, Sialkot, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, D.G. Khan, Mianwali, Karachi, Tandojam, Badin, Quetta, Loralai, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit. Comparison of test results with permissible limits of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) revealed that 22 brands were not safe for drinking.

Fifteen brands such as Pure, Hunza, Hidrade, Blue Plus, Sunday, Aqua King, Spring Fresh Life, UF Pur Edge, Douro, Dropice, Puricana Mineral, Drops, Best Natural, Al Barkah Water and Koyo were found to be unsafe due to presence of higher levels of sodium ranging from 60-165 mg/L than PSQCA bottled water quality standard for Sodium, which was 50 mg/L.