Abstract:
Production of bottled water in Sri Lanka has been started in the late 1§80's. Many studies
have proved that consumers believe that bottled water is safe and tastes better. However, some
studies on bottled water quality have proved that there are many occasions that tap water is safer than
bottled water. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the quality of bottled water available
in Sri Lankan market. Twenty-five brands of bottled water produced in Sri Lanka (popular brands) has
been evaluated for several water quality parameters, namely, pH, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity,
conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS) and total conforms (TC). pH, alkalinity, turbidity, conductivity
and TDS were within the accepted limits in Food (Bottled or Packaged water) Regulations-2005
gazetted by the government. However, it was observed that total coliform count was positive in 4
brands and total hardness exceeded the acceptable level (250 mg/l as CaCCty in 4 brands. All the
other parameters were in accepted levels in all brands. It can be concluded that all bottled water
brands available in Sri Lanka is not meeting the regulations.
