Over 50 per cent of Guyana ‘treated water’ for sale failed the government microbiology test
KAIETEUR NEWS: More than 50 per cent of samples collected from suppliers of treated water have failed the government microbiology test and as such the Ministry of Health and the Government Food and Drug Analyst Department have embarked to improve the quality of treated water provided to consumers.
This agreement was reached on Saturday between the two government bodies and water producers from across the country.Present at the meeting were Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy; Director of the Government Food and Drug Analyst Department, Mrs. Marilyn Collins; and Director of Standards and Technical Services at the Ministry of Health, Ms. Yvette Irving.
Among the water producing entities at the meeting were Jus’ Water Inc, Water Max, Aqua-tic, Oasis Water Inc, Mora Spring, Extrapur Water, Sky Juice, Busings Enterprise, Fountain Pure, Phoenixx Pure Water, Ultra Pure Water, the Water Store, Juice Power, Super Clear, 5G Dialysis, Nimbus Water System, Wieting & Richter Ltd, Kaieteur Springs, Guyana Water Inc, Essential Supplies Inc and Guyana Water Incorporated.
“We want to ensure that the water sold to consumers is of acceptable quality to us at the Ministry of Health and your customers. While we don’t want to impose standards on you, we are here today to tell you of our intentions to hold you responsible for maintaining the minimum standards for water safety. It is our intention to enforce standards for the sector and to garner your input,” he said.
Noting that more than 50 percent of the samples collected from suppliers of treated water failed the government’s microbiology test, Minister Ramsammy reminded that the Government Food and Drug Analyst Department is tasked with exploring ways to put acceptable standards in place.
These, he said, would be guided by the Bureau of Standards Guidelines for treated and bottled water. The producers were unanimous in their support for government to ensure that producers meet the standards for bottled water.
Concerns were also raised from the government team about untreated water being sold under various producers’ labels, while the producers called for assistance to boost their testing capacity.
Most producers have the capacity to conduct the chemical tests required by the Government Food and Drug Analyst Department. However, they lack the capacity for microbiology testing.
The latter test, Minister Ramsammy noted, is critical to the quality of water and, hence, the Ministry will explore ways of making it available to the producers.
It was agreed that producers will utilise the Food and Drug Analyst Department’s microbiology laboratory, through a fee-for-service testing facility, for their tests. Additionally, Minister Ramsammy committed to engaging stakeholders in order to facilitate the possibility of obtaining tamper-free seals for caps for bottled water.
In an effort to reduce the scam of fake bottled water, the Food and Drug Analyst Department would begin to test water obtained through the delivery services.
The parties will meet again to be updated by the Government Food and Drug Analyst Department regarding the minimum standards for bottled water.
