Qualitative Assessment of Bottled Water Sold in Benin City Nigeria Using Physico-Chemical Indicators

Bottled water is water that is intended for human consumption and is sealed in bottles or other container with no added ingredients except that it may contain safe and suitable fluorides. The sale and consumption of bottled water continues to grow rapidly in most places in Nigeria and is of public health concern. This study was designed to assess the physical and chemical quality of bottled drinking water sold in retail outlets in Benin City. Twenty five (25) brands of bottled drinking water were collected, physically examined and assessed for their physiochemical parameters using standard analytical procedures to ascertain their level of compliance with World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) specification for drinking water. The results revealed that the physical and chemical parameters of all the brands of bottled water analysed were below WHO (2011), NESREA (2007) and NSDWQ (2007) permissible limits. The findings therefore suggest that these bottled water were fit for human consumption. However, there is a need for strict and routine monitoring of the packaged drinking water with the view of raising their standards.