MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF BOTTLED WATER

Bottled water is now the biggest selling soft drink in Europe (van Mus schenbroek, 1995) with sales topping 700 million litres in 1994 in the UK alone (Natural Mineral Water Association, pers comm): As part of a wide ranging UK Department of the Environment Programme to assess pos sible risks from the consumption of drinking water from all sources, a survey of the microbiological quality of still bottled water, at the point of sale, was conducted. A total of 17 different brands of still water (both natural mineral and other bottled water) in a variety of d ifferent containers (plastic and glass, clear and coloured) were teste d for total colony counts at 22 degrees C and 37 degrees C, total coli forms, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, aeromonads, faecal st reptococci and sulphite-reducing clostridia. Bottles were purchased fr om various suppliers in order to obtain a range of different sell by d ates. (C) 1997 IAWQ. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.