After pesticide, it is the turn for microbes to cook up mischief in the packaged drinking water industry.

A study conducted by Jadavpur University in Kolkata has stumbled upon the presence of microbes much above the permissible limit in packaged drinking water of well known brands.

Considered to be safe and hygienic than normal water served at establishments, the top six brands in the eastern region contained bacteria that could cause enteric diseases like diarrhoea.

"We have conducted the study in last 15 days on a sample size of 22 having six brands and found the count to be higher by 100-700 per cent than permissible limit set by Bureau of Indian Standard.

"Importantly, all the samples are certified by BIS. The rate of occurrence is four out of five," Dr Sadhan Ghosh, professor of mechanical engineering and co-ordinator of Centre for Quality Management System, said.

Ghosh said that the manufacturers were being informed. They have been requested to take back the batch where the samples belong. They have also asked to make the process free from contamination.

The development comes close on the heels of the huge ruckus caused by a Delhi based NGO which found pesticide over permissible limit in most of the well known international and domestic brands.

One of the interesting finding of the study was that none of them had pesticide over permissible limit, probably the fallout of the nation-wide controversy caused by the study.

Dr S R Gupta, ADG (PFA) and secretary CCFS, ministry of health and social welfare who came to Kolkata to participate in the National Symposium on Quality and Food Safety of Packaged Drinking Water by CQMS, informed Union government was in the process of formulating new guideline for this segment.

"We have circulated the draft policy which calls for stricter compliance on account of pesticide. The new policy would ensure there is no more than 0.0005 mg of pesticide in a litre of water. No individual pesticide should not cross the 0.0001 mg/litre limit," Gupta told Business Standard.

He, however, mentioned the new guideline did not take into account the presence of microbes. "It is already there in BIS specification and PFA (Prevention of Food Adulteration) guidelines. There is no need to further upgrade them.

"Manufacturer should be cautious about the source of water and pre and post treatment so that no microbes are present in the water," Gupta said.

The study stressed the fact that retailers must also be taught about storing the product. If it is stored in less than 4 degree centigrade temperature, microbes can not grow. However, the propensity for breeding goes up post 61 degree centigrade.

CQMS is setting up a committee bringing all stakeholders, regulators, government officials, industry representative, NGOs, consumer forums, researchers and professors among others to look into the subject.

The packaged water drinking business in India is estimated at over Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion) and it is growing at phenomenal rate. The growth is expected to be in the region of 250 per cent in next three years. There are 710 packaged drinking water brands and six mineral water brands certified by BIS.