Microbiological quality and safety of bottled water brands sold in Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Water plays an indispensable role in promoting public health. Even though the quality of piped drinking-water is getting better and better, the majority of the world population tend to consume different bottled water brands due to the assumption that bottled waters are safer and healthier than tap water.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to check whether the bottled water brands sold in Addis Ababa are bacteriologically safe for consumption.

Methods: Samples of 11 domestic and 2 imported bottled water brands (N = 325) were randomly purchased from retail stores and supermarkets in Addis Ababa on five different occasions and analyzed for heterotrophic organisms, thermos-tolerant coliforms, Intestinal enterococci, Aeromonas species, and Pseudomonas species between July 2013 and May 2014.

Results: According to the findings, heterotrophic organisms were detected in all brands, but 66.2% of all samples. The rest 33.8% of the samples (60% imported and 29% of domestic brands, by using Fisher’s exact test, P > 0.05) were found to be free of heterotrophic organisms. And yet, 83.1% of all the samples assumed to be safe for human consumption (< 100 colony forming units). Similarly, Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., and Intestinal enterococci were detected from 75.4%, 21.5%, and 3% of samples respectively. But no thermo-tolerant coliforms were detected.

Conclusions: The presence of heterotrophic organisms and Pseudomonas species in the majority of the samples implied that some bottling companies might have faulty water treatment or packaging practices. Thus, preventive and corrective actions may need to be taken in order to improve on the purity of the water. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2014;28(3):178-184]