Twenty-five brands of bottled water have been declared unsafe for human consumption due to microbiological or chemical contamination by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).
According to a statement issued here, the PCRWR collected 197 samples of mineral/bottled water brands from 20 cities for the third quarter of year 2023 (July to September). A comparison of test results with the bottled water quality standards of the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has revealed that 25 brands were unfit for human consumption.
Nineteen bottled water brands – Qudrat Water, Natural, Premium Safa Purified Water, Z Pure Drinking Water, Best Natural, Klear, Sona Water, Life Pure Drinking Water, Pure and Healthy Alkaline Water, Aqua 100, Elstein, Aab-e-Haram, Khizer Pure Water, Fine, Barsay, Aab-e-Muskan, Aab-e-Hayat, Indus, Oslo, Fresh Smart Pure Water – were found to be unsafe due to presence of higher levels of sodium.
Three bottled water brands – Khizer Pure Water, Fine, Indus – were found unsafe due to the presence of high levels of TDS. One brand (Imperial) was found unsafe due to the presence of high levels of potassium than the permissible limit.
Similarly, eight brands of bottled water (Ice Well, Clear, Best Natural, Imperial, Aab-e-Hayat, Pure Life, Aqua Gold, Spring Pure Water) were found contaminated with bacteria.
The PCRWR has encouraged the general public was to look at the detailed report to know about the status of the water quality of the bottled water brands they consumed. The detailed report is available on PCRWR website www.pcrwr.gov.pk.
