The Health Ministry on Tuesday formally shut down seven mineral water companies after test results from random samples of groundwater wells used by the companies showed they contain water pollutants, including live protozoa.
In a statement on Tuesday, Health Ministry Undersecretary for Preventive Medicine Dr. Amr Qandil said the companies are not meeting health and safety standards.
Qandil said the manufacturing companies and the concerned regulatory authorities were informed of the decision to shut down the wells and that any violations by the concerned companies will be considered as negligence punishable by law.
He noted that a number of water bottling companies had previously ignored decisions issued by the Water and Health Commission concerning the closure of wells used by companies.
Qandil added that the ministry had a duty to inform consumers and that the public prosecutor had been notified of the issue. Qandil said products manufactured by the companies include Alpha, Hadir, Seway, Aqua Delta, Tiba, Aqua Mina and Aqua Soteir bottled water.
Edited translation from MENA
