Bottled water companies have urged the government to enforce quality control procedures, claiming some producers are cutting corners on purification and misleading consumers.
"There are more than 50 companies currently producing water in the UAE," said Hajji Abdulrahman Al Hajjrai, director of public administration of Zulal Water Factory in Sharjah. "It is a huge number for such a small country." Al Hajjrai said in their effort to cut costs, some bottling companies fail to purchase the proper equipment and do not follow established quality procedures.
He was addressing an audience of industry representatives and government officials, which gathered in Dubai yesterday at a conference organised by knowledge service provider, Datamatix.
"Unfortunately some companies put a label [on the bottle]... and when you analyse the water, it [the content] is not the same," he said.
Stephan Laroche, director of quality and innovation, Pepsi-Cola International, Middle East and Africa Region, expressed a similar opinion: "There are many companies that do not have the right standards and they put these products on the market. Consumers are unaware." Another problem, said Al Hajjrai, is the fact that some water manufacturers falsely claim to be selling mineral and natural waters.
"There is no such thing as mineral on this market," said Al Hajjrai, explaining that, while perfectly safe to drink, bottled water in the UAE is treated in a way that does not meet the requirements necessary to be classified as mineral or natural water.
Khalid Sharif, assistant director-general at the Health Department and Head of Food Safety Section, Dubai Municipality, said while the civic body inspects the premises of water-bottling companies based in Dubai, it does not do on-site inspections if the manufacturer is based in a different emirate.
The issue could only be resolved if standards are uniformly enforced across all emirates, said Mohamed Badri, deputy director-general of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma).
"Dubai Municipality is doing a wonderful job but if another municipality is not, this is all futile," said Badri.
One solution to the problem is the Emirates Quality Mark initiative, launched by Esma last month, Badri said.
"This scheme will make sure goods are produced following best practices," he said.
The scheme, however, is voluntary and so far no bottled water company has approached Esma expressing an interest in being certified.
By Vesela Todorova
© Emirates Today 2007
