Anger over bottled water scandal
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THE FOOD Safety Authority of Ireland was under fire last night for failing to tell the public about potentially dangerous contamination in bottled water.
The FSAI was criticised after the Irish Independent revealed yesterday that one in 11 bottles of Irish produced water was found to be contaminated in some way, compared with one of every 119 imported brand samples tested.
However, the data was not released despite being obtained in December last year because there was no health risk, the FSAI claimed last night.
Despite 7.2pc of all bottled water analysed being in breach of legal or EU guidelines on 'safe' limits of bacteria including e-coli, the watchdog said that the industry was informed of the findings and steps taken to eliminate any public health risk.
The results led to some brands being removed from sale, but the FSAI has not named the brands involved.
And yesterday Fine Gael food spokesperson, Andrew Doyle, said it was "completely unacceptable" that the public were "kept in the dark".
He called for the brands which tested negative to be "named and shamed".
Some water brands also made the same call for the full information to be published, claiming the whole industry was being tarred by the same brush.
FSAI chief executive Dr John O'Brien said last night that despite some branded water being removed from sale, there was no public health risk. Had one arisen, the FSAI would have issued an alert.
Irish people drank 193 million litres of bottled water last year with a retail value of €205m.
The contaminated samples contained coliforms, or groups of bacteria that indicate poor standards of hygiene at the water source or bottling plant.
But the FSAI said their presence in bottled water did not mean there was a risk to human health, but that improvements were needed during the production process.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Dr O'Brien said the "key message" was that the companies concerned were alerted and there was no risk to health.
"You might not be compliant with the legislation but not be putting the public at risk," he said. "We didn't find any pathogens that cause harm in humans, these are indicators of water quality. We use indicators to signify possible contamination.
"All water is susceptible to contamination. When we find a risk to the public we do something about it, we have to inform the public. We do not wait until a report is compiled -- if foods are found that are not compliant with the food safety legislation, then immediate action is taken.
Unacceptable
"Any breach is unacceptable and we are satisfied that appropriate actions have been taken. Industry acted responsibly and where problems were identified, the product was withdrawn and processes rectified."
A number of leading water companies yesterday stated their products were not affected by the survey.
Among them were Galway Water, Kerry Water, Tipperary Water, Glenpatrick and Ballygowan.
In a statement, Ballygowan said the FSAI should distinguish between brands which met the guidelines, and those which didn't.
- Paul Melia
