Ministry orders recall of bottled water brand

Though the levels of bromates breach the Gulf Standardisation Organisation requirements, the ministry maintained that the excess did not pose any risks.

DUBAI // Authorities have recalled a brand of bottled water that was found to contain excess quantity of a chemical content permitted by a regional body.

The Ministry of Water and Environment declined to name the brand in question.

Last night, the ministry urged municipalities across the country to recall the brand after it was found to have "bromates in excess of the authorised level of 10 micrograms per litre".

Though the levels breach the Gulf Standardisation Organisation requirements, the ministry maintained that the excess did not pose any risks.

The statement said that "drinking water that contains a negligible amount of bromates in excess of the level authorised does not consist a direct risk to health". The comments follow messages on BlackBerry and Twitter claiming that a brand was polluted because it contained carcinogenic substances.

Supermarkets yesterday said they were yet to receive any notification.

"We have not received any circular so far about recall of any brand," said V Nanda Kumar, head of communications at LuLu Hypermarket Group.

Dubai Municipality previously said that it had asked the errant water supplier to take "corrective measures" after it detected the high levels. The municipality said the substance was "very close to" the maximum allowed by the Gulf standards group.

"It is of no risk to consumers," said Khalid Sharif, the municipality's director of food control, after routine inspections revealed content to be 11 parts per million.

"It was a little up and we asked the company to take corrective action. There is no contamination," he said.

The municipality said the batch "was not like others manufactured by the same plant that met the endorsed specifications".

Authorities said that drinking water usually contains the compound bromide, which becomes bromate when mixed with ozone or chlorine during purification.