In its quarterly report, the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has publicized the results for awareness of public health.
For the first quarter of the year 2023 (January to March), 174 samples of Mineral/Bottled water brands were collected from 21 cities. Comparison of test results with the bottled water quality standards of the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has revealed that 24 brands were unsafe for human consumption due to microbiological or chemical contamination.
Ten brands (Natural Pure Life, Indus, Barsay, Pure Life, Aqua Sharav, Al Saeed Water Life, Blue Plus, Natural Punjab, Vivo Water, and Best Natural) were found to be unsafe due to the presence of higher levels of sodium, one brand (Imperial Water) was found unsafe due to presence of high level of TDS than the permissible limit, while, three brands (Imperial Water, Smart Water and Natural Punjab) were found unsafe due to presence of high level of Potassium than the permissible limit, nine brands (Aqua Pack, Perfect Taste, Douro, Salsabeel, K&S, Al mena, Al shalal, Crystal water and Heavenly) were found contaminated with bacteria and thus were unsafe for drinking purposes.
Two brands (Noble & Arfa) were found contaminated with high levels of Arsenic whereas one brand (Eagles blue) was found contaminated with Nitrate, the report further revealed.
