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Majority of bottled water brands sold in Sint Maarten are non-compliant.

bottledwater13102013PHILIPSBURG:--- One of the many tasks of the Inspectorate VSA as established by legislation is to monitor and ensure the quality of drinking water. This includes the water as distributed by GEBE through its network, bottled water and ice. The legal basis for this authority and the quality requirements are laid down in the "Inspectorate Ordinance", the "Commodities Ordinance", the "Drinkwater Ordinance" and the "Ordinance Quality of Drinkwater".
For 2013 the Inspectorate has as one of its goals a more strict supervision and enforcement on the quality of drink water and ice.
On March 25th, August 7th and September 30th 2013 samples of different brands of bottled water were collected and analyzed to determine the quality and compliance with legislation. The list might not be complete. Some brands are imported on occasion and not always available, but the most common brands have been examined.
To understand and interpret the results of the analysis, a brief explanation is given below of the most relevant parameters. The norms are based on the Ordinance "Quality drinking water" (AB 2013 GT no. 754) and supplements.

pH
The pH is a measure of the acidity – alkaline balance in a solution and is mainly determined by the bicarbonate – carbon dioxide - carbonate balance.
Careful attention to pH control is necessary at all stages of water treatment to ensure satisfactory water clarification and disinfection.
The pH is of major importance in determining the corrosivity (aggressiveness) of water. In general the lower the pH, the higher the level of corrosion. However, pH is only one of a variety of factors affecting corrosion in distribution networks and household pipes which may lead to adverse effects on its taste, odor and appearance.
Norm for bottled water: above 7.8 and below 8.5
Health risks: At very low (below 4) or very high (above 10) pH water my lead to skin and eye irritation and gastrointestinal disorders but usually has no direct impact on humans.

Conductivity
Conductivity is a measure of the ability of water to pass an electrical current. Conductivity is affected by the presence of inorganic dissolved solids, either present or added , such as chloride, nitrate, sulfate, and phosphate anions (ions that carry a negative charge) or sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and aluminum cations (ions that carry a positive charge). Organic compounds like oil, phenol, alcohol, and sugar do not conduct electrical current very well and therefore have a low conductivity when in water. Conductivity is also affected by temperature: the warmer the water, the higher the conductivity. For this reason, conductivity is reported as conductivity at 25 degrees Celsius (25 C).
Norm for bottled water: below 100 mS/m

Turbidity
Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of water. It is used to indicate water quality and filtration effectiveness (e.g. whether disease-causing organisms are present). Higher turbidity levels are often associated with higher levels of disease-causing micro-organisms such as viruses, parasites and some bacteria. These organisms can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches.
Norm for bottled water: clear water and the lower the turbidity, the better.

Microbiological (bacteriological) analysis
Bacteria in water can cause waterborne illness. E. Coli and Enterococci live in the intestine of healthy humans and animals. E.Coli bacteria produce a powerful toxin that can cause severe illness. Infection often causes severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps; sometimes the infection causes non-bloody diarrhea. Frequently, no fever is present. In some people, particularly children under 5 years of age and the elderly, the infection can also cause a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail. About 2%-7% of infections lead to this complication which is a life-threatening condition usually treated in an intensive care unit. Blood transfusions and kidney dialysis are often required. Some other, less harmful bacteria may be present up to a certain amount which is measured by the plate count.

  • Plate count (PC) indicator of the amount of bacteria present
    norm for bottled water: below 20 kve/ml
  • T-Coli (total Coliform) Not a health threat in itself; it is used to indicate whether other potentially harmful bacteria may be present.
    norm for bottled water: 0 kve/250 ml (not present)
  • E-Coli : will only be determined if T-Coli is positive
    norm for bottled water: 0 kve/250 ml (not present)
  • • E-Coc (Enterococcen)
    norm for bottled water: 0 kve/250 ml (not present)

Expiration date: by law it is mandatory to have an expiration date stamped on the label, the bottle or the cap. It was observed that many don't comply in this regard due to un-controlled import in Sint Maarten or import from non-official distributors. Bottled water has an expiry date, because of its contents and the exposure to environmental conditions like heat and sun light, which make it non suitable for consumption with time. Consumers should always verify the expiration date and are advised not to purchase bottled water without an indicated expiration date or one which has expired.

Manufacturers' quality assurance
Manufacturers need to be in compliance with HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) guidelines and norms on hygiene. HACCP is a systematic preventive approach to food safety and biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe, and designs measurements to reduce these risks to a safe level.
Quality control and assurance must be implemented and demonstrated by manufacturers e.g. a water quality monitoring program of the source and along the production process must be in place; keeping proper logs of lab results; packaging control; line, internal pipe and equipment cleaning.

Results
The results of the analysis can be viewed in the table.
As can be seen, there is only one brand that is fully compliant and consistent in all three tests. The manufacturer of this brand is a local manufacturer. The production plant and quality assurance are supervised by the Inspectorate as is done with the other local manufacturer. Too many brands have demonstrated deviations in the pH and also demonstrated an unacceptable high plate count. None tested positive for E.Coli or E-Coc.
The Inspectorate will intensify its supervision and enforcement on imported brands, especially at the import and distribution points. Bottled water without an expiry date will be confiscated. Importers a/o distributors will have to provide proof of manufacturers' quality assurance programs and conduct testing programs in cooperation with the Inspectorate.
More information can be obtained at the Inspectorate VSA, division Food Safety.

Table – 1         Results of the analysis of different brands of bottled water

 

March 25th, 2013

 

Brand

pH

7.8-8.5

Conduct

<100

Turbidity

PC

<20

T-Coli

0

E.Coc

0

1

Alkalife Ten

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

Aqua Panna

7.7

235

0.26

110

0

0

3

Aquafina

5.97

16

0.16

6

0

0

4

Blue Mountain

5.86

10

0.12

4

0

0

5

Blue Water

5.5

23

0.33

11

0

0

6

Capes

6.56

537

0.17

3

0

0

7

Chanflor

6.93

124

0.17

0

0

0

8

Contrex

-

-

-

-

-

-

9

Crystal Geyser

-

-

-

-

-

-

10

Crystal Spring

-

-

-

-

-

-

11

Dasani

5.77

57

0.17

4

0

0

12

Evamor

-

-

-

-

-

 

13

Evian

-

-

-

-

-

-

14

Fiji

7.3

254

0.23

0

0

0

15

Heavenly

7.99

16

0.1

0

0

0

16

Karuline

-

-

-

-

-

-

17

Nestle

7.34

103

0.15

0

0

0

18

Niagara

6.14

9

0.35

340

0

0

19

Nikini

6.58

69

0.25

0

0

0

20

Poland Spring

6.68

57

0.18

0

0

0

21

San Benedetto

7.5

441

0.48

95

0

0

22

Smart Water

-

-

-

-

-

-

23

Spa

6.29

56

0.12

0

0

0

24

Vittel

7.44

532

0.14

0

0

0

25

Volvic

6.59

192

0.17

0

0

0

26

Younique

7.8

19

0.15

0

0

0

27

Zephyrhills

7.67

370

0.15

8

0

0

August 7th, 2013

 

Brand

pH

7.8-8.5

Conduct

<100

Turbidity

PC

<20

T-Coli

<1

E.Coc

<1

1

Alkalife Ten

8.9

142.7

0.21

75

0

0

2

Aqua Panna

7.47

232

0.15

230

0

0

3

Aquafina

-

-

-

-

-

-

4

Blue Mountain

6.45

4.88

0.1

800

0

0

5

Blue Water

6.08

28.8

0.17

1100

0

0

6

Capes

6.46

461

0.1

0

0

0

7

Chanflor

7.94

125.4

0.14

2

0

0

8

Contrex

6.95

2.2

0.25

60

0

0

9

Crystal Geyser

5.93

26

0.13

0

0

0

10

Crystal Spring

7.91

13.28

0.14

3

0

0

11

Dasani

6.93

54.9

1.03

0

0

0

12

Evamor

8.54

265

0.12

0

0

0

13

Evian

7.11

542

0.14

81

0

0

14

Fiji

7.17

270

0.14

22

0

0

15

Heavenly

8.39

15.89

0.14

0

0

0

16

Karuline

7.08

102.8

0.1

0

0

0

17

Nestle

7.53

94.5

0.12

80

0

0

18

Niagara

6.66

5.99

0.16

99

0

0

19

Nikini

7.22

76.3

0.16

0

0

0

20

Poland Spring

7.51

57.7

0.2

0

0

0

21

San Benedetto

7.44

448

1.03

50

0

0

22

Smart Water

7.32

54.9

0.14

15

0

0

23

Spa

6.7

50.8

0.13

0

0

0

24

Vittel

7.24

532

0.13

0

0

0

25

Volvic

7.39

194.6

0.12

0

0

0

26

Younique

6.99

206.3

0.15

0

0

0

27

Zephyrilis

7.25

368

0.19

180

0

0

September 30th , 2013

 

Brand

pH

7.8-8.5

Conduct

<100

Turbidity

PC

<20

T-Coli

<1

E.Coc

<1

1

Alkalife Ten

9.42

144.4

0.12

75

0

0

2

Aqua Panna

7.67

231

0.2

400

0

0

3

Aquafina

6.74

13.05

0.51

0

0

0

4

Blue Mountain

6.24

7.31

0.14

1500

0

0

5

Blue Water

6.04

26.8

0.21

1900

0

0

6

Capes

7.42

519

0.78

70

0

0

7

Chanflor

7.28

125.2

0.37

5

0

0

8

Contrex

7.56

1992

0.26

210

0

0

9

Crystal Geyser

7.5

219

0.15

0

0

0

10

Crystal Spring

7.51

211.2

0.16

40

0

0

11

Dasani

6.28

59.9

0.47

0

0

0

12

Evamor

8.48

264

0.19

0

0

0

13

Evian

7.65

549

0.14

60

0

0

14

Fiji

7.81

267

0.19

9

0

0

15

Heavenly

7.8

26.6

0.24

0

0

0

16

Karuline

7.33

88.2

0.17

5

0

0

17

Nestle

7.12

99.9

0.15

310

0

0

18

Niagara

6.49

11.11

0.15

80

0

0

19

Nikini

7.23

72.6

0.14

0

0

0

20

Poland Spring

6.9

64.8

0.15

5

0

0

21

San Benedetto

7.83

445

0.17

0

0

0

22

Smart Water

6.31

45.6

0.26

10

0

0

23

Spa

6.39

52.3

0.15

2

0

0

24

Vittel

7.58

537

0.16

0

0

0

25

Volvic

7

193.7

0.44

19

0

0

26

Younique

7.05

14.53

0.26

0

0

0

27

Zephyrilis

7.77

369

0.31

220

0

0

Press Release from Inspectorate of the Ministry of VSA

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