A SURVEY of cleanliness standards among purified drinking water companies conducted by the Ministry of Health following cyclone Nargis revealed that a number of local brands were failing to meet minimum safety criteria set by the government.

The survey was conducted by the Department of Health under the ministry to determine whether purified drinking water factories in Yangon Division had been damaged by the storm, and were manufacturing according to good practices recommended by the department.

The companies that were found to be operating at substandard levels included Sunflower, Zest, SIP, Nawarat, Great, Fresh Water, Osaka, Star H2O, Nayla, Comet, Winner, PGS, Yoma, FIFA, Golden Cherry, NayMin, Star, Yayketaung, Zwe, Emperor, 555, Kool Aqua, Family and Myanmar Olympic.

However, it was announced on June 3 that Sunflower, Yoma, Great, SIP, Nayla and Zest were able to start producing water again after raising their manufacturing standards.

Dr Thein Myint, the managing director of the Oasis drinking water company, said the criteria for purified water can be divided into three categories of cleanliness – physical, chemical and microbiological.

“Some drinking water companies couldn’t meet the safety criteria last month because of lack of proper purifying technology, and also because demand for drinking water exceeded supply in the wake of the cyclone,” he said.

“The quality of water depends on technology. Most companies in Yangon use an ultraviolet system to treat the water. But because of lack of electricity and other problems caused by Nargis, some companies might have skipped some of the steps during the manufacturing process,” U Thein Myint said.

He said that while the water sold in 1-litre bottles usually adheres to cleanliness standards, the real problem lies with refillable 20-litre bottles.
“The water in these big bottles can be contaminated if the bottle itself is dirty, if the water company neglects to clean the tap where bacteria can breed and if the bottle is not handled carefully during delivery,” he said.

A general practitioner in Yangon said the Food and Drug Administration should develop a policy of periodically examining purified water companies, as well as other food and beverage manufacturers.