In a surprising revelation, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority have declared that almost 40 percent of the bottled water samples collected from the entire province were substandard and unsuitable for human consumption. The results emerged after the end of the authority’s first campaign test campaign, which is throughout the province.
According to the official report, a total of 156 bottled water samples of different sizes, 19-liter, 1.5-liter, 500 ml and 300 ml, were tested by the newly established provincial food testing laboratory and the Center for Research. Out of these, 59.61 percent were considered satisfactory, while 40.39 percent did not meet De Benchmark’s quality set by the Pakistan standards and the quality control authority.
Director General of Food Safety and Halal Food Authority, Wasif Saeed, oriented provincial Food Minister Zahir Shah Toru about the results of the campaign. He also revealed that 56 water source tests were also examined, with 27 the quality test and 29 declared substandard.
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The report highlighted serious concerns and revealed that 61 bottled water samples contained dangerous microbial contamination, including coliform, fecal coliform, E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, two samples contained harmful chemical components. Both findings, warned DG, posed serious risks to public health.
The data also showed that KP’s 143 active aquatic plants collectively produce an average of 419,000 liters of bottled water daily. Alarmingly, it turned out that more than 117,000 liters of this production were sub standard during the test period, ranging from August 23 to September 19.
In the next phase, the authority will expand its campaign to test water filtration plants and residential sources throughout the province to protect public consumption.
DG informed the Minister that heavy fines had been imposed on companies if samples were found unsuitable. The authority also issued recall directives to seize and discard substandard shares from the market. Furthermore, production on the offensive plants was suspended until corrective measures were adopted and fresh samples cleared quality tests.
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Toru welcomed the campaign’s conclusions and described them as a milestone to protect consumer rights. He noted that KP had for the first time launched such a comprehensive test campaign thanks to the creation of the provincial food testing.
“On the directives of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, we have initiated large test drives for food and drinks to raise the standards of production and ensure compliance,” he said.
By promising strict action against offenders, the minister added: “We will eliminate substandard and dangerous foods and ensure quality food throughout the province. By securing safe food, we will eventually empty the hospitals.”
He also assured himself that the government introduced a robust food regime not only to protect public health, but also to support legitimate companies in improving their products in accordance with national and international standards.
