ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s nine leading brands of bottled water are contaminated with chemical and microbiological contamination, according to a report of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), issued on Wednesday.
The researchers have made this comparison of analytical findings within its permissible limits.
According to the report, 118 samples of mineral/bottled water brands have been collected from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Multan, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Tandojam, Quetta and Karachi.
The excessive level of arsenic can cause various types of skin diseases, diabetes, kidney diseases, hypertension, heart diseases birth defects, black foot diseases and multiple types of cancers etc.
While the three brands including Elayn Plus, Crystal Maya and Aqua Saad were found to be unsafe due to microbiological contamination which may cause Cholera, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Hepatitis, Typhoid etc, the report stated.
Whereas four brands including Pure Water, 3 Star, Douro and Real Plus were found unsafe due to the presence of higher levels of Sodium ranging from 60-115 ppm.
Another brand `Pure It’ was found unsafe due to the presence of higher levels of Fluoride i.e. 1.8 ppm.
The PSQCA bottled water quality standard for sodium is 50 ppm and for fluoride is 0.7 ppm, the report said.
The poor quality of drinking water has forced a large cross-section of citizens to buy bottled water.
As a consequence of this expanding market, a mushroom growth of bottled water industry in the country is witnessed during the last few years.