Assessment Of Commercial Bottled Table And Sachet Water Commonly Consumed In Federal University Of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, Nigeria Using Microbiological Indices.

Abstract

This study investigated the safety and portability of some notable bottled and sachet table water sold and consumed in Federal University of Technology-Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, Nigeria using common bacterial contaminants as index of indicators of water quality. Seven different bottled water samples obtained from different manufacturers labeled A1to A7 and seven different sachet water samples also from different manufacturers labeled B1 to B7 were analyzed microbiologically and physically .Physical examinations of the samples showed they were colourless with no offensive odours .Escherichia coli(E.coli),Streptococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae,Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhmurium were tested .Bottled water samples A1,A2,A3,A6 and A7 as well as sachet water samples B1,B2, and B7 had bacteria count per 100ml(MPN/100ml) at 37 0 C while bottled water samples A4 and as well as sachet water samples B3,B4,B5 and B6 had less than 10 coliform count per 100ml(MPN/100ml)at 44 0 C.The test samples A1,A2,A3,A6 and A7 and sachet water samples B1,B2,and B7 belonged to excellent category(A) while samples A4 and A5,B3,B4,B5 and B6 belonged to satisfactory category(B). 21.43 % E.coli,7.14% Sreptococcus face alis,7.14% Klebsiella pneumoniae and 14.29% Staphylococcus aureus were found in only bottled table water samples A4 and A5 respectively while in sachet water samples, the prevalence of other bacteria was 42.43 % for E. coli in samples B3,B4, B5 and B6,24.24 % for Streptococcus faecalis in samples B3, B4, B5 and B6 ,while the 12.12 % Klebsiella pneumoniae in samples B3, B4, B5 and B6, while the 21.21 % Staphylococcus aureus was present in samples B3, B4, B5 and B6 respectively.