Drip by drip

Reed Monza (Trinidad) Limited bottled water comes from a well at the foothills of the Northern Range and manager Roger Downer insists that the standards it adheres to are impeccable. The company first started bottling a local brand of water in 1994. The brand was then  known as Pure Water, now its Reed’s Pure Water. 

“Trinidadians are becoming more conscious of the quality of the water they drink,” he said, noting they are turning to bottled water as an alternative. That translates into increased sales, he said. Downer insists that the water from its well is tested and approved by WASA. It is also put through the mill by an ISO 9002 certified independent laboratory and also one of their own trained in-house quality control staff. While Reed Monza takes its bottled water seriously, Downer said that there  are still no standards for bottled water in TT. In December 1999, when then Minister of Consumer Affairs, Mervyn Assam, revealed the names of four brands of water, which he claimed, were “unacceptable,” he sparked controversy and a wave of criticism followed. The brands of bottled water were sampled and tested by CARIRI for microbial content and chemical contamination. The tests were completed in September 1999, and revealed that certain brands had unacceptable microbiological content.

Some of the brands, Assam said, had unacceptable levels of heterotrophic plate counts, while others had an unacceptable level of faecal coliforms. He explained that the heterotrophic plate counts indicated the general cleanliness of the water, such as the treatment processes applied and how the water was handled and stored. However, he noted that this was not indicative of a health problem. “The presence of faecal coliforms was more indicative of threats to the health of the consumers,” he indicated. Following CARIRI’s findings, the Consumer Affairs Division was mandated to pursue several initiatives to ensure that the consumer’s well being is adequately safe-guarded.

One of these initiatives included the liaising with the Chemical Food and Drug Division (CFDD) of the Ministry of Health to ensure the expeditious completion of a mandatory standard. Downer said while there are no specifications for bottled water to adhere to in TT, his company’s brand works in tandem with the internationally recognised body responsible for establishing standards for bottled water throughout the world, the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) based in the United States (US). It is also been affiliated with NSF International, an independent body also based in the US and designated by WHO to establish drinking water standards and regulations.” Downer said he is not sure whether checks are made by any Ministry to ensure that health specifications are met by bottled water producers. He said water tests should include testing for bacteria, pH, chlorine content, hardness, totally dissolved solids (tds), taste, smell, conductivity, ozone residual if such is used in process and varying parameters for organic and inorganic contaminants in the source as well as the final product water. He advised the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to urgently look at establishing guidelines and standards not only for local brands but also for imported ones as well. “This will place our bottled water industry on par with other countries,” he said.

In December last year, Blue Waters, one of the more popular bottled waters in TT was fingered in an incident at Grafton Beach Resort in Tobago where cases of food poisoning were found among guests. However, the local manufacturers were later cleared as investigations revealed that the water was not to the cause of the incident. Dominic Hadeed, managing director, Blue Waters, declined an interview but his company does adheres to the rules and regulations set by the IBWA. SM Jaleel and Company Ltd, bottlers of Oasis water, said they were not able to provide any information on the matter because that part of their business was contracted out to a private bottler. They refused to give the name of the bottler. Local bottled water manufacturers have to compete with international brands like Evian, Zephyrhills, Aberfoyle Springs and Dasani, among others.

Another bottled water manufacturer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, agreed with Downer, saying he has been bottling water for the past four years and is still waiting on the Consumer Affairs Ministry or the Food and Drug Division to set proper standards and regulations for bottled water in TT. “Implementing regulations on bottled water will promote honesty and fair dealing in the market place,” he said. He said in the US the bottled water industry is regulated on three levels, federal, state and trade association. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives consumers the assurance that the bottle water they purchase is stringently regulated, tested and of the highest quality, he said. Bottled water labels in the US are labelled “artesian,” “distilled,” “drinking,” “mineral,” “purified,” “sparkling,” and “spring,” and questioned why the same could not be done here. “We do not have any  kind of regulations for bottled water here in TT and we need to get some to protect consumers,” he said. The absence of regulations has not deterred consumers, he said. “Consumer do not appear ready to give up their bottled water any time soon. Younger, health-oriented people are driving the market’s growth,” he said.