Pure water syndrome: Bacteriological quality of Sachet- packed drinking water sold in Nigeria

Abstract

Water is one of the indispensable resources for the continued existence of all living things including man. Government has failed to adequately provide safe, pipe-borne water for the increasing population in Nigeria and this has encouraged the sale of drinking water by private enterprises that have little knowledge about good manufacturing practices. This study investigated the bacteriological quality of commercial sachet-packed drinking water at point-of-sale in southwestern Nigeria with emphasis on pathogenic bacteria in 108 samples tested, in order to evaluate the contribution of this popular product to the increasing incidence of typhoid fever and related illnesses. Tenfold serial dilution of water samples and the pour plate technique were used to investigate the presence of Salmonella and indicator coliform Escherichia coli in sachet-packed water samples. Aerobic and total coliforms were also enumerated. Characterization of isolates was by in-vitro cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. Results showed that 87% of the sachet-packed water samples examined contained Salmonella and/or Escherichia coli, indicative of fecal contamination and inadequate water treatment or no treatment at all. The study also showed that about 65% of the polythene sachets used was not of food-grade quality and imparted polyester taste in the water samples. High aerobic colony counts in the order of 6.0 log CFU/ml was recorded from 93% of water samples examined. E. coli counts used as indicator of hygiene criteria were present in the range of 98 and 106 cfu/100ml of water sample, while Salmonella counts used as food safety criteria were between 2.12x10 1 and 2.20x10 1. These mean values were greater than the international guidelines for drinking water quality. The findings of this study indicate that sachet-packed water samples examined do not meet microbiological standards for drinking water quality. National surveillance agencies need to monitor and enforce compliance with microbiological safety standards of sachet-packed water being sold to the public.

Effectiveness of storage as a point-of-use means of improving the bacteriological quality of drinking water

“…None of the brands examined in this study displayed such required information as batch number, manufacturing date, best before date and nutritional information even though all of the brands provided the producer's name and address including the NAFDAC number. Similar observations have been reported in various parts of Nigeria (Dada, 2009;Edema et al, 2011). The zero compliance to labelling requirements reported in different parts of Nigeria underscores enforcement issues with government regulations when compared to Tanzania showing a 54% compliance rate in a similar study (Kassenga, 2007).…”

“…Research has shown that even though regarded as treated, when sachet water samples were examined for the presence of coliforms; 20-90% incidence of pathogenic bacteria have been reported in some cases (Dada, 2009;Edema et al, 2011). This kind of reports is indicative of non-compliance of manufacturers to NAFDAC and other governmental agencies' guidelines aimed at maintaining the WHO standards for the quality of drinking water.…”

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

“…Unfortunately, quite a lot of these brands of sachet-water which the masses perceive as safe for drinking are unsafe. Several surveys and studies have proven that most brands of sachet-water are unwholesome and therefore unfit for drinking, in line with WHO guidelines for drinking water [8,9,10,11,12,5]. While several studies have been carried out by various researchers in Nigeria on the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of sachet-water brands sold in Nigeria-with their findings showing that most of the brands are unwholesome-yet, there seems to be paucity of data in literature on the factors that are responsible for the overwhelmingly reported unwholesomeness of the ubiquitous sachet-water.…”

Spatial Distribution of Bacteriologically Safe and Unsafe Sachet Water in Sokoto Metropolis

“…Therefore a total of 83 samples were collected instead of the proposed 86. The Sachet water samples were purchased from producers (Ajayi and Adesida, 2009;Ezeugwunne et al, 2009 andOyedeji et al, 2010) and transported to laboratory in insulated containers with ice packs within 8 -24 hour (Okioga, 2007 andEdema et al, 2011). Meanwhile the samples were coded and labeled for easy identification.…”