Water plays an important role in human health. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) proclaims seven unsafe mineral water brands for human consumption out of 61 samples collected from different cities as per its quarterly report (January to March)

PCRWR proclaims seven unsafe brands of Mineral water unsafe for human consumption out of 61 samples collected from different cities as per its quarterly report.

The government through the Ministry of Science and Technology has designated the task to PCRWR for quarterly monitoring of bottled/mineral water brands and publicize the results in the best interest of public health.

For the last quarter, 61 samples of Mineral/Bottled water brands were collected from TandoJam, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Multan, and Karachi, said a news release issued here.

A comparison of test results with permissible limits of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has revealed that seven brands were found unsafe for human consumption.

Three of them (i.e. NFS, Super Natural and Hibba) were found to be unsafe due to presence of excessive levels of sodium ranging from 66-86 mg/L than PSQCA bottled water quality standard for sodium (50 mg/L) and two brands were found unsafe due to lower level of pH (6.09-6.16).

Whereas two brands (i.e. Aqua Royals and Aqua Natural) were found to be unsafe due to bacterial contamination.

PCRWR has played its role as a national research organization by undertaking and promoting research in various disciplines of the water sector, more specifically, irrigation, drainage, surface and groundwater management, groundwater recharge, watershed management, desertification control, rainwater harvesting, water quality assessment and monitoring, water conservation and development of water quality improvement technologies, etc.

With its headquarters in Islamabad, its eight Regional Offices/Research Centers are located at Tandojam, Quetta, Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, Gilgit, and Muzaffarabad.