The Government of Pakistan declared more than 20 mineral water companies unfit for human consumption. The government directed the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) to monitor the quality of mineral water produced by different water companies.
The government also directed the PCRWR to make the water testing results in public so that the people would know which water brand is not a good fit for them. In the former year, as per the directions of the government, PCRWR started water re-checking quarterly.
The first quarter check took place from October to December (2022). Consequently, 168 samples of mineral water were collected from about 22 cities. The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) tested these samples, and the results concluded that more than 20 mineral water brands are not sound for drinking purposes.
Among these 20 companies, 12, namely Indus, Excellent Natural, Pinar, Premium Safa, Neno, Orwell, Minwa Kashaf, Ice Drop, Barsay, Best Natural, Klear, and Nayab Pure, were declared unfit because of the presence of excessive sodium in their water.
Then the water produced by 2 companies, viz. Aqua One & Excellent Natural was found hazardous to human health due to the presence of high potassium than acceptable levels.
Another water company, notably Nayab Pure Life, was declared ineligible due to the presence of high levels of TDS in its water.
Furthermore, PCRWR issued the names of 8 more water purifying companies for producing low-quality water. These include Alfa Premium, Isberg, Aqua Pack, Sip-up, Ever Pure, Noble, Neno, and Asha. These companies were pinpointed for producing microbiologically contaminated water.
PCRWR encouraged the public to get through the detailed report of pure water before buying it from any other company.