How Pure Is Pure (Sachet) Water In Nigeria: Separating Fact From Fiction

Pure (sachet) water

Pure water in Nigeria can be said to be package water the most common one being sachet water.

It is believe to be separated water and that the level of extraneous matter does not constitute a health hazard to consumer. At this junction, it is important to note that there is no water that is 100 % pure in this world. Not even spring water that contains some amount of dissolved minerals. This means that the only water that is pure contain just H₂O and is tasteless.

On the other hand, distilled water can be said to be the only water that is pure and close to 100 %. However, this water is not suitable for domestic use like the one of drinking and cooking because it does not contain certain minerals dissolve in it that contribute to good health.

Access to safe drinking water is essential to health. It is a basic human right and a component of effective policy for health protection. Diseases relating to contamination of drinking water constitute a major burden on human health. This was the driving force behind man sourcing for alternative to cheap and safe water in Nigeria. The most patronized became sachet water popularly called ‘pure water.’

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Pure water are supposed to be manufacture according to National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (N.A.F.D.A.C) guidelines. However, this has remain a challenged by many manufacturers. There are growing concerns concerning their purity during production and storage.

The conditions of manufacturing and the the effects of storage on the quality of the water has been questioned.

Most manufacturers produce pure water of about 50-60 ml sachet. The fear of most consumers can be divided into two categories:

1. Biological
2. Chemical

There has not be any known documented case of outbreak of water borne diseases from consuming sachet water in this country. However, there are fears some isolated cases may be unnoticed. However, it is important to note the following.

Biological

During Production

According to World Health Organisation (W.H.O), drinking water must not contain any microorganism known to be pathogenic or any bacteria indicative of faecal pollution. This kind of pollution cannot be detected by the taste, colour, or odour when they are in minute quantity.

Various studies within the shores of Nigeria have shown that different products contains different types of microorganisms within the same batch of same company and of other areas. This was what is obtainable in the country. The common pollutants are those found in normal portable drinking water with few faecal colonies. This is an indication that there was no treatment or it was poorly treated.

During Storage

The storage condition can also have an impact on the bacteria contamination of the water. Poor storage condition can contaminate the surface of the sachet, which can cause disease to those who drink directly from the sachet. And according to a study, the material use in producing water is a little bit porous which can allow microorganisms to go in. this can also happen in the case of sachet water.

Chemical

During Production

A proper production process will produce water containing chemicals use in purifying the water. A poor production may lead to addiction of wrong chemicals or an over dose of the required amount. This can be poisonous.

The sachet package is produced from polyethyleneterepphthalate (PETE/polyester). This is considered a non-food grade packaging. However, there are always fear that this container may contain chemicals that can leach in to the water.

During Storage

Some packages are capable of leaching chemicals into their product. A typical example is the food grade plastic polystyrene used in burger wrapping and beverage cups. It do leach styrene into the content after a while. This compound has been suspected to cause cancer in human. Another example is polycarbonate, which leach biphenol A into its content that is an astringent compound. However, the quantity leached on the product is at the safe zone.

Sachet water produced with polyester leach chemical into the water after sometime. The level of chemical leached depends on the temperature of the environment, the time it was exposed to the temperature. It should however be noted that the chemical from polyester has not be shown to cause cancer or any other disease. This means that water produced well should be safe for consumption.

Few days of opening a chlorine treated water like sachet water will allow chlorine to evaporate out of the water. However, microbes that manage to find their way into sachet water may not survive due to low nutrient if it has not been open. However, the risk may be associated with microbes leaving behind their chemical toxins. This can alter their taste and smell.

The best storage condition for sachet water is cold environment with less light. This reduce microbial growth if present and prevent leaching of the package chemical. This can keep the product for months. However, freezing sachet water may stretch the package releasing some of the chemicals. However, the chemical has not be shown to be dangerous to health.

From the foregoing, one can deduce that

1. sachet water produced to specification is safe for consumption not minding theories that it can be poisonous.
2. properly stored water can last up to the stated expiry date
3. the package sachet is not toxic even when some of its content leached into the water thereby changing the taste.

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Facts About Water

Water

It is a common phenomenon that portable drinking water from tap and other natural sources taste nice (only pure water is tasteless). The taste becomes different after a while on standing for some time. This has been blamed on the change of temperature after a while. This is not so if the water stays in a location where the temperature did not change.

The change in temperature to low temperature can encourage microbial growth in the water system. Some microbes like geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol gives a foul smell that is sensitive to human nose. Although this takes week to have effects.

Taps water in a fridge in a closed container should be fine for months. This is not so when photosynthetic organisms enters. This is because it is difficult to find that true container that can protect the content for years from bacteria. Most packages are porous. They slowly reproduce by creating organic matter out of CO₂ and residual light that they can gather.

Fast Facts

• Why regulatory bodies often time determine the bacteria loads of water, it is not so with protozoa and virus. This is because it is expensive to carry out such research.
• Genuine NAFDAC approved sachet water must contain capital letter ‘L’ in its numbering
• NAFDAC is supposed to carryout periodic check on sachet water manufacturers every two years
• Some companies have device means of getting easy approvals by buying and packaging known sachet water brands that meet up to standard during NAFDAC inspection
• Sachet water is known to form slimy layer on the inside of its container when exposed to heat. This can be due to chemical leaching out and attaching to the sides of the package
• Pure water never expires only packages do. So expiry date on sachet water is the day the package can last up to.
• So many research are sponsored or paid for by companies not to tarnish the image of pure water business in Nigeria. This is contradicting genuine research carried out by scientist.

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