18C-26

E. KEAN, L. T. Walker, S. Ogutu, L. Shackelford, and M. Verghese. Dept. Food and Animal Sciences, Alabama A&M Univ., PO Box 1628, Normal, AL 35762

Bottled water is the fastest growing beverage category in the world. For some consumers it is a healthy alternative to tap water and other beverages. Nevertheless, several studies revealed that the chemical and microbial qualities of some bottled waters are in violation of acceptable standards. The objectives of this study were to evaluate chemical and microbial differences in different types of commercial drinking water and to ascertain if current official standards are being adhered to by the different commercial drinking water. Representative batches of five different types of bottled water (imported spring water, mineral water, sparkling bottled water, purified water, and domestic spring water) were randomly purchased from various supermarkets. Aliquots were taken from pooled types for chemical (16 minerals and trihalomethanes) and microbial (coliforms and heterotrophs) analyses. All methods of analyses were FDA approved. Our results showed the presence of arsenic (As) with concentrations of 0.156mg/L and 0.173mg/L compared to FDA's 0.05mg/L; Selenium (Se) with concentrations of 0.216mg/L, 0.115mg/L and 0.221mg/L compared to FDA's 0.05mg/L; cadmium (Cd) with concentrations of 0.008mg/L compared to FDA's 0.005mg/L, and Lead (Pb) with concentrations of 0.019mg/L and 0.038mg/l compared to FDA's 0.005mg/L. None of the different types of water had total trihalomethanes at levels above the FDA's level of 0.08mg/l. Nevertheless CHCl₃ was detected below permissible levels in all types while CHCl₂Br was detected in one sample of imported spring only. The membrane filtration method did not confirm any coliform in the tested bottled water. However, Heterotrophic plate count (HPC) colonies were observed in 2 brands of domestic spring at 684 CFU/mL and 626 CFU/ml. These were at significantly higher levels than the other tested brands. The results of this study shows that commercial drinking water may not conform to FDA's standards as expected by the consumers.

Session 18C, Food Chemistry: Food composition, analysis and volatiles
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Sunday PM Room Hall I-2

2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana