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Pinch of poop in bottled water
How does bottled water from other parts of Kenya fare?
Researchers from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) took samples from Kitale town between June and August 2016.
They took 60 samples of bottled water from 20 brands, randomly selected from several markets.
The brands were the most widely available on the shelves of many stores in the administrative centre of Trans-Nzoia County.
The samples were acquired from four points: three big stores, three small stores, seven shops and street vendors. The sellers had valid business permits issued by the county government.
Majority of the brands (85 per cent) came outside the study area (Kitale), while 15 per cent were produced locally.
In the sample were 11 pieces of bottled water from Nairobi, two from Nakuru, and one each from Nyeri, Ruiru, Sigona and Thika.
Ninety per cent of the brands used at least two combination methods to purify the water, while 10 per cent used only one method of purification. Of those who used one purification method, five per cent used reverse osmosis, while the other five per cent used filtration methods.
The samples were labelled and transported in a cooler box to the microbiology laboratory at the Department of Medical Laboratory Science at JKUAT for bacteriological analysis.
The water was analysed for physical quality and bacteria contamination using multiple tube fermentation to detect the presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) coliform per 100 millilitres. It was compared with the national and World Health Organisation standards for packaged water, which require water samples of good quality to have zero coliforms per 100 millilitres of water sample.
The presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water suggests the possible presence of pathogenic microorganisms that make it unsafe for drinking.
Ninety per cent of the bottled water brands representing products from 18 companies had counts within acceptable limits. The remaining 10 per cent had Escherichia coliforms present in 100 millilitres of water in two water brands, with one of the two having higher Escherichia coliforms than the other.
The researchers did not reveal the identity of the brands as this might have commercial implications for the water bottlers.
However, they said that the water brands found to have harmful bacteria raised concerns on the quality of bottled water and highlighted the danger posed to public health.
“The results from this study indicate a possibility that not all bottled water sold in Kitale town is of good quality as perceived by the buyers. Any contamination may pose a unique hazard because of the widespread distribution of the bottled water,” the researchers said in a study published in August.
They called for continuous bacteriological screening and good manufacturing and sanitation practices by manufacturers of bottled water.
According to World Health Organisation recommendations, potable water (that is safe to drink or use for food preparation without health risks) should not have coliform bacteria, faecal coliforms, E. coli, enterococci and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Coliform organisms are not always considered as an indicator of faecal contamination, but their presence in drinking water suggests the potential presence of pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio cholera, which cause waterborne diseases.
Assessing the bacteriological quality of bottled water can accelerate provision of safe and clean drinking water to the public and prevent or monitor outbreaks of waterborne diseases. – ResearchGate
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