Comparative Analysis of Bottled and Sachet Water Sold in Urban and Rural Areas of Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was aimed at comparatively studying the microbiological quality of several bottled and sachet water sold in Edo State. Microbial counts included total heterotrophic bacterial count (THBC), Total coliform count (TCC) and Total Fungal count (TFC). Counts for urban bottled water ranged from 0.0 to 6.5×10 for THBC and no count for TCC and TFC. Urban sachet water had 0.0 to 7.5×10 for THBC, 0.0 to 1.8×10 for TCC and none for TFC. Counts for rural bottled water ranged from 0.0 to 2.0×10 for TFC. Rural sachet water had 0.0 to 3.1×10 for THBC and no count for TCC and TFC. The bacteria isolated from the samples were Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis , Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella sp. And the fungus isolated from the samples was Saccharomyces sp. It was shown that most of the brands of the sachet water had bacterial growth, hence, the word ‘pure water used instead of sachet water’ is practically incorrect. This may be as a result of poor handling. Educating the water handlers i.e sellers, distributors and producers could be of help in reducing or eradicating incidences of water transmitted infections.