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Bottled water 'not safe for drinking' | A new study has found high level of bacteria in bottled water in Canada. The Montreal study showed that heterotrophic bacteria counts, in more
than 70 percent of bottled water samples, exceed the recommended limits specified
by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Researchers from Ccrest laboratories
report their results today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society
for Microbiology in San Diego. "Despite having the cleanest tap water a large
number of urban Canadians are switching over to bottled water for their daily
hydration requirements. Unsurprisingly, the consumer assumes that since bottled
water carries a price tag, it is purer and safer than most tap water," says Sonish
Azam, a researcher on the study. Regulatory bodies such as Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health Canada have not set a
limit for the heterotrophic bacteria counts in bottled drinking water. However,
according to the USP not more than 500 colony forming units (cfu) per milliliter
should be present in drinking water. The study was initiated in response to a
Ccrest employee's complaint of fowl taste and sickness after consumption of bottled
water at the company. Azam and her colleagues randomly purchased several brands
of bottled water from a local marketplace and subjected them to microbiological
analysis. They discovered more than 70 percent of famous brands tested did not
meet the USP specifications for drinking water. "Heterotrophic bacteria counts
in some of the bottles were found to be in revolting figures of one hundred times
more than the permitted limit," said Azam. In comparison the average microbial
count for different tap water samples was 170 cfu/mL. Azam stressed that these
bacteria most likely do not cause disease and they have not confirmed the presence
of disease-causing bacteria, but the high levels of bacteria in bottled water
could pose a risk for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, infants,
immunocompromised patients and the elderly. "Bottled water is not expected to
be free from microorganisms but the cfu observed in this study is surprisingly
very high. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to establish a limit for the
heterotrophic bacteria count as well as to identify the nature of microorganisms
present in the bottled water," said Azam. |
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