Illegal bottled water business thrives unchecked

Unauthorized bottled water business is thriving in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, as the authorities concerned have failed to implement the relevant laws to curb the production of bottled water by the unregistered companies.
While expressing concern over the mushroom growth of illegal water (mineral) plants, the industry sources said that most of these companies had flooded the markets with contaminated bottled water which caused water-borne diseases including gastro-enteritis, cholera and hepatitis. They said the unregistered companies deceived the customers by selling their “products” in bottles which looked the same as popular and registered brands of bottled water, thus earning them huge profits.
Industry sources further claimed that some bottled water suppliers had also started illegal businesses under the “umbrella” of registered companies while adding that these suppliers sold these illegal products in the market at lower rates than those of the original ones.
They stressed upon the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to issue the official list of the legal bottled water brands to save the customers from using unhygienic bottled water.
They said there were three types of bottled potable water in the market, including mineral water, which came from natural springs, reverse osmosis water (ROW) and filtered water.
They added that only three major registered companies in the country were providing the mineral water, whereas all other registered companies produced ROW. “Every single unregistered factory produces unfiltered or filtered water at cheaper price labeled with ingredients of the mineral water on bottles,” they said.
“The increasing production of counterfeit and substandard bottled water has put a negative impact on the sales of the good quality products in the market,” a leading bottled water producer said. He added that, “The illegal bottled water is contaminated and is hazardous for the human health, which should be banned in the larger interest of the public,”