Quality Assessment of Sachet and Bottled Water Produced by a University and Selected Private Business Owners in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Poor quality drinking water pose a public health risk to consumers and contribute to waterborne disease burden especially in developing countries. This study assessed the quality of sachet and bottled water produced by a university coded Uni and three private business owners (Lom, Olv and Tai) in Benin City, Nigeria. Microbiological analysis involved the use of traditional methods, while physicochemical properties, essential and toxic metals content of the samples (n = 24) were determined using standard methods. Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used to test antibiotic susceptibility of the bacterial isolates. The total heterotrophic bacterial count and total fungal counts of the Uni brand of drinking water ranged between 2.48 - 2.64 and 2.00 - 3.70 log10CFU/mL, while other brands was 2.78 - 7.36 and 1.00 - 3.60 log10CFU/mL, respectively. No coliforms were detected in the Olv and Uni brands of drinking water. The physicochemical properties, essential and toxic metals content of the samples were below permissible limits stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water, with some exceptions. Among the isolates, Staphylococcus aureus had the least multiple antibiotic resistant index of 0.0, whereas the highest involved Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli reported as 0.4 each. Although, the overall results indicate that the Uni branded product was relatively better than others, regulatory bodies such as National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) should intensify its efforts in monitoring the production, storage, and distribution of sachet and bottled water to ensure strict compliance with international standards.