The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) has sealed six bottled water processing plants after they were found selling contaminated water.

During the inspection carried out by the department last week, it found that the bottled water plants did not maintain proper hygiene system. “We took action against these companies as the water refilling process in them was open to contamination which poses risk to consumers’ health,” DFTQC’s Spokesperson Purna Chandra Wasti said.

The department has sealed processing plants of Sagarmatha Food and Beverage in Matatirtha and Mata Saraswati Khanepani in Thali of Kageswori Manohara Municipality-5. The four other plants based in Godavari, Lalitpur were Mineral Water Product, Core Spring Water, Aqua Godavari Beverage and Real Spring Mineral Water and Beverage.

According to Wasti, most of these plants were found implementing manual bottle filling system, lacking closed chamber to fill the water jars, having leakages in their pipeline system and lacking carbon filter for water purification. Likewise, a number of them failed to renew their operating licence. Lacking UV treatment plant, using water jars of other companies and lacking well equipped laboratory to test the water were among the common problems found in these water processing plants.

Similarly, the department has asked Spring Water in Matatirtha, Badikhel Khanepani Udyog in Godavari and Quality Khanepani in Jorpati to run their business as per the department’s guideline. These companies have failed to renew their operating licence and were found to be filling water in the scrubbed and soiled jars.

Out of 11 bottled water plants that the department inspected last week, nine were found to be of substandard quality as they failed to meet the guidelines prescribed by the department. The department, since last two months, has enforced a separate directive for processed drinking water production business. The directive talks on maintaining quality and packaging of the drinking water as prescribed by the Food Act and related regulation. Timely renewal of the operating licence, maintaining hygiene in the external environment at the water processing plants, having adequate infrastructure such as separate water treatment plant, storage facility and hygiene maintained by the factory workers, management of well-equipped laboratory, proper labelling and maintaining records of standard operating procedures and monitoring process are among the obligations that bottled water companies need to fulfill to carry out their businesses.

Recently, cases of contaminated water have been rampant. In the first 10 months of this fiscal year, the department had filed cases against 135 edibles firms on charge of selling substandard food items. Of them, 20 bottled water plants were booked for posing risk to consumer’s health.

Unhygenic firms

Sagarmatha Food and Beverage in Matatirtha

Mata Saraswati Khanepani in Thali

Mineral Water Product in Godavari, Lalitpur

Core Spring Water in Godavari

Aqua Godavari Beverage in Godavari

    Real Spring Mineral Water and Beverage in Godavari