Evaluation of bacteriological quality and essential elements in commercially bottled/packaged water produced and marketed in Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

The bacteriological quality and levels of essential mineral elements and organic acids were evaluated in 33 randomly selected bottled/packaged water samples produced and marketed in Southeastern Nigeria. The microbiological assay, essential mineral elements and organic acids were determined using American Public Health Association (APHA) standard methods. The distinguishing characteristics of the microorganisms identified were their psychotropic growth capabilities, motility at 37C, growth in air, negative phenylalanine, deaminase, positive urease, catalase, oxidase and coagulase activities. Data obtained were compared with the accepted standards for safe drinking water as recommended by WHO/UNICEF. Some of the bacteria species recovered from the water samples included Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. The results show that only 9% of the samples investigated met the WHO/UNICEF standard of zero microbial load, 73% of the samples fell within 10 3-10 4 colony forming units (CFU)/100 ml, while 18% had the poorest with 10 6 CFU/100 ml. Major essential minerals found were calcium, sulphate, chloride, nitrate, bicarbonate and phosphate. Furthermore, the levels of these essential minerals were within the acceptable range in 76% of the samples while in others (24%) they were below the standard range recommended by WHO/UNICEF/APHA. There is need to maintain the approved standard level of chlorination in bottled /packaged water produced and sold in Southeastern Nigeria. Moreover, routine bacteriological quality assay by companies producing bottled/packaged drinking water should be enforced in Nigeria in particular and other developing countries in view of the findings in our study.

Microbial contamination of packaged drinking water in Nigeria

“…As a form of packaged water, sachet water availability has helped bridge the gap in population access to drinking water [3,6,7]. However, concerns about the safety, microbial quality and public health implication of these products have been reported in the literature [8][9][10][11].…”

“…Research suggests that some of the sachet water products sold in Nigeria are non-compliant with the WHO and/or NIS standards for drinking quality [11,[18][19][20][21][22]. However, the extent of non-compliance across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the country is unclear in the literature.…”

Profile of Fungi Isolated from Domestic Water Used by Street Vendors: The Public Health Implication

“…This high demand for packaged water by consumers has led to springing up of many water producing industries where water is packaged without proper regard for hygiene. Therefore concerns about the safety, microbial quality and public health implications of these products have been raised (Olaoye and Onilude, 2009;Onoja et al, 2015).…”

“…Research suggests that some of the sachet water products sold in Nigeria are non-compliant with the NAFDAC (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control) and/or NIS (Nigerian Industrial standard) standards for drinking quality (Akunyili, 2003;Onoja et al,2015). The presence of different species of fungi in supposedly "fungi-free" bottled water is of great concern.…”

Performance Analysis and Development of Path Loss Model for Television Signals in Imo State, Nigeria

“…The state's lakes and rivers, including the Oguta Lake in western Imo State and the Orashi, Otamiri, Imo, and Awbana Rivers, are additional significant geographical features. Tropical rain forest is the predominant kind of vegetation in Imo State [15].…”