(AFP Photo)
The Ministry of Health’s Supreme Committee for Water has licensed the products of only 18 mineral water companies, Health Minister Mohamed Moustafa Hamed said, according to a report on state-run news agency MENA.
These companies include Hayah, Safy, Aqua, Siwa, Siwa Aman, Siwa Nahl, Organica, Aqua Sky Mineral, Vera, Nestle, Baraka, Aquafina, Baraka Alfa, Tiba, Dasani and Aqua Yaris.
The ministry has also renewed its call to close underground wells that are used by some bottled mineral water companies, after it discovered the presence of contaminants and living protozoa in samples taken from these wells.
Hamed said the ministry conducts periodic campaigns to collect unlicensed products and takes legal actions against them as part of its role in protecting people from exposure to polluted food, drink and air.
The health minister also urged Egyptians not to buy bottled mineral water products outside the mentioned 18 brands.
Mineral water traders believe that there is currently a crisis in the availability of bottled mineral water in the domestic market, with many claiming that production companies have decreased their supply to the market by 25% since last year.
