Evaluation of the Production Processes of Different Brands of Sachet Water Sold in the Open Market in Ado-Ekiti, Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Life on earth is practically impossible without water, in fact, the presence of water on our planet is one of the critical factors that make life possible on earth. Apart from commercial, agricultural, industrial, domestic and sundry uses of water, humans, like other living organisms, require water for their physiological needs. However, as vital as water is to humans, if the water consumed by them is  not potable or is unwholesome, it can lead to serious and sometimes life-threatening illnesses. This thus makes it important to periodically assess and monitor the potability and  wholesomeness of any form of drinking water, particularly the ones presented to the public. In this study, twenty-two different brands of commercial sachet-water sold in the open market in Ado-Ekiti, southwest, Nigeria were consecutively sampled and analysed. The factories where the brands were manufactured were also visited and served structured self-administered questionnaires that were filled by their respective production managers. Data from the questionnaires were analysed and juxtaposed with the outcome of laboratory investigations with a view to identifying the factors responsible for the  un wholesomeness of any of the brands. Out of the twenty-two sachet-water brands sampled, none (0%) had physically visible colour; none (0%) had physically perceivable odour; none (0%) had detectable taste. All (100%) were physically  clear; 1 (5%) was bagged in a 60-cl cellophane sachet, while 21 (95%) were bagged in 50-cl cellophane sachets; all (100%) claimed to have NAFDAC (the regulatory agency responsible for the control and regulation of food, drugs and allied products in Nigeria) registration number- going by what was written on their finished products. Nearly all- 21 (95%)- all the sampled brands had a pH value of 5, while  1 (5%) had pH value of 6, resulting in a mean pH of 5. More than half of the brands sampled from the open market- 11 (50%)- yielded a positive culture result, 3 (14%) of which were coliforms.  According to WHO standards there shouldn’t be a single coliform bacterium in drinking water, which makes it quite unsettling that three of the brands contained coliforms which of course could be enteric coliform- an indication of the fact that these brands had come in contact with human faeces. The public heath implication of this is discussed and appropriate recommendations made.