Quality of packaged waters sold in ibadan, nigeria

Abstract

The inadequacy of pipe borne water supplies in urban centres is a growing problem. As a result, communities resort to buying water from vendors. In recent years, sachet or bottled water became major sources of drinking water in the households and at work. This study aimed at assessing the chemical and bacteriological quality of packaged water sold in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State with a population over 3.2 million. A total number of 118 samples of water from several commercial brands sold in the city of Ibadan were selected by simple random sampling. These were of three categories, those that are packed and sealed in bottles by larger factories (bottled water), those sealed in nylon sachets by small scale industries (A Type), and those put in nylon sachets and manually tied by itinerary vendors (B Type). These samples were subjected to physical, chemical and bacteriological analysis. Hanna C 100 spectrophotometer and analytical quality chemical reagents were used for chemical analyses. MacConkey broth (MB) and Brilliant Green Bile Broth (BGBB) were used for bacteriological analysis using multiple tube method as described in APHA Standard Methods. The results showed that while the physical parameters were within WHO limits for drinking water quality guidelines values, 30 % of the samples showed rather poor quality. The pH values ranged between 6.6 -9.7 and aluminum ranged from 0.00 -0.34 mg/1, fluoride from 0.01 -1.87mg/l and cyanide from 0.0 -0.175 which were not within permissible limits. Bacteriological analysis showed that 5% of the 78 samples (A Type), and 28% of the 30 samples (B Type) tested showed positive coliform counts . The dominant bacteria were Klebsiella sp., Streptococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thus the bottled waters were satisfactory, but the sachet waters were found not satisfactory. Based n the results, it is recommended that the enforcement agencies in the country (NAFDAC and the Ministry of Health) need to get the producers of 'packaged water' to comply with the national drinking water guidelines. Communities on their part should be educated and enlightened on the ill effects of patronizing fake vendors.

Quality assessment of sachet and bottled water sold in Gboko, Benue state, Nigeria.

“…However, [10] reported proliferation of bacteria in sachet water in Port Harcourt when stored beyond 4 weeks. In general, the bottle water brands were of better microbial quality compared to sachet water similar to [20] findings that larger proportion of sachet water showed positive coliform counts compared to bottled water sold in Ibadan town. Contamination of packaged drinking water may result from the raw source of water, treatment employed and handling during production.…”

Physico-Chemical and Bacterial Evaluation of Packaged Drinking Water Marketed in Delhi - Potential Public Health Implications

“…Microbial evaluation of all water samples revealed high levels of total coliform bacteria in the sachets but not in the bottles. Similar results were found in studies done by Gangil R et al, [11], Majumder AK et al, [31], Semerjian L [10], Urvashi et al, [32], Zeenat et al, [33] and Ajayi AA [34]. The microbial contamination of packaged drinking water could be influenced by factors such as their raw water sources, treatment processes which were employed and hygienic practices which were observed in their productions.…”

Bacteriological evaluation of some sachet water on sales in Owerri metropolis, Imo State, Nigeria

“…Lack of information on pathogenic bacteria in sachet water on our market creates some uncertainties in our understanding of the overall quality of drinking water on our markets. Ajayi et al (2008) had reported an earlier study of packaged drinking waters in Ibadan, Nigeria in which larger proportions of sachet water were found to show positive coliform counts compared to bottled waters.…”