Access to good quality drinking water is a challenge in most towns and cities in Ghana and households have for years depended on other sources of water to supplement their activities. The introduction of sachet water to consumers was to provide safe, hygienic and affordable instant drinking water to the public. Although this is a laudable idea, current trends seem to suggest that sachet drinking water could be a route of transmission of diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the bacteriological quality of sachet water popularly known as "pure water" produced and sold in the Teshie-Nungua suburbs of Accra, Ghana, one of the areas with perennial water shortage forcing inhabitants to depend on sachet water as a source of drinking water. Using simple random sampling procedures, 30 samples from 10 brands of sachet water were collected from hawkers/vendors in Teshie-Nungua (3 samples per brand). One sachet water sample was taken from each site every fortnight for six weeks in May-June 2007. The samples were analyzed using multiple tube method and biochemical assays. Results were recorded as Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliform per 100ml of water. The bacteriological quality of the samples was assessed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) classification system for drinking water. Five (16.7 %) of the samples were Excellent, 5 (16.7%) were Satisfactory, 9 (30%) were Suspicious and 11 (36.7%) were Unsatisfactory using the MPN values recorded. Six samples were contaminated with faecal coliform and two of these, (P1 and P2) were from the same brand. Escherichia coli was also detected in the two samples (P1 and P2) out of three samples from the same brand. The level of contamination could be due to inadequate treatment of water samples by the producers, improper use of filters or post-production contamination. The findings suggest the need to enforce the laws that govern the operation of such production outfits as well as educating consumers on the need to purchase sachet water from manufacturers that have been licensed to produce water and whose product bears the stamp of the Food and Drugs Board of Ghana.

Consumption of bottled water is increasing rapidly in developing countries especially among the middle and high income earners as it is generally perceived to be pure, clean and of good quality. This has led to the sale of different brands of bottled water on the Ghanaian market. Although disease outbreaks due to contaminated bottled water are rare, any contamination may pose a unique hazard because of the widespread distribution. Bacteriological contamination of bottled water can occur through the bottling process or as a result of storage for long periods at room temperatures or higher. Since bottled water may be consumed by a wide range of people including the elderly, children and pregnant women, its safety must always be assured. The bacteriological quality of the current 7 brands of bottled water on the Ghanaian market was tested over a period of 10 weeks. Ten different batches of each brand was randomly selected and purchased from the market making a total of 70 samples. Sampling was done weekly in July-September 2007 and bacteriological examination conducted by multiple tube fermentation method to detect the presence of total coliforms, faecal coliforms and Escherichia coli. Results obtained were analyzed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards and guidelines for drinking water. Using the Most Probable Number (MPN) Index for various combination of positive and negative results, an MPN value of less than two (<2) total and faecal coliform were recorded for all the 70 samples of bottled water. The results showed that the bacteriological quality of the seven brands of bottled water samples analyzed was within the acceptable limits set by WHO guidelines and therefore safe for human consumption. However, more extensive surveillance of the bottled water industries and stringent regulations should be developed and enforced to ensure that the standards recorded in this study are maintained.

No abstract