HARARE – Some bottled water producers have rejected a report by the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) investigators that their water was unsafe for drinking, saying the State agency was making “false allegations”.
In the report, Ema said 11 out of 17 bottled water brands which they had tested contained high levels of heterotrophic plate counts (HPC).
The HPC, the report said, are above Standards Association of Zimbabwe (Saz) acceptable drinking water limit of agar plate count per millilitre of 100.
Dairibord Zimbabwe (Private) Limited (DZPL) — who are into manufacturing and marketing of liquid milk, food and beverage products and whose product range include Aqualite Mineral Water — said in a statement yesterday its bottled water was a Saz-certified mineral water “bottled under world class manufacturing conditions.” “The Saz certification is an endorsement on the safety of Dairibord Aqualite as Saz undertakes its own independent verification,” the Antony Mandiwanza-led behemoth said.
During processing, every batch is tested in order to provide extra assurance to our valued customers.
“We are therefore ready and willing to go through testing and verification with anyone who doubts our safety and quality claims on Dairiboard Aqualite.
As a mineral water, Dairibord Aqualite has the added advantage in that it contains essential minerals that contribute to the sustenance of good health.” Tanganda Tea company secretary Henry Nemaire said the company’s bottled Tinga mira water drawn from a spring situated in Chipinge had undergone various independent and government laboratory tests and came out clean.
It is a standard that promotes excellency in sustaining biodiversity and people and consumer livelihoods.
“It is a standard that promotes excellency in sustaining biodiversity and people and consumer livelihoods,” he said in a statement.
“In accordance with requirement of our Rainforest Alliance certification, the raw Tinga mira spring water is subject of annual tests and the most recent such laboratory examination of the raw Tinga mira spring water was carried out by Ema on April 9, 2018.