Abstract:
Bottled drinking water from southern province of Sri Lanka, representing the
three districts, was characterized by means of their physicochemical and
microbiological composition. Six different commercial brands of bottled
water samples were collected on regional and popularity basis. In order to
assess the effect of different storage conditions (sun exposure, refrigeration
and normal, and storage time), different commercial bottled water brands
were analyzed to determine the quality parameters described below. These
parameters were compared against International (WHO - World Health
Organisation) and National (SLS – Sri Lanka Standards) standards. The
microbiological parameters (total coliform) and seven out of eight
physicochemical parameters such as turbidity, electrical conductivity,
hardness etc. of all brands of bottled water were within the permissible range
for local and international standards, except pH as it was determined to be
lower than the accepted standard. This study also revealed that there is a
considerable amount of variation in the quality parameters of bottled water,
though within the accepted range, when the storage conditions and storage
times are considered, for different commercial brands of water bottles.
