Laboratory Finds High Levels Of Bacteria In Bottled Water

After an employee at C-crest Laboratories in Montreal experienced a funny taste in their bottled water, the lab decided to test a sampling of Canadian bottled waters.

The findings, which were presented at American Society of Microbiology in San Diego, showed that 70 percent of the Canadian bottled water were well above American standards of bacteria in bottled water.

In some cases the levels of Heterotrophic bacteria, which survive by eating organic matter were 100 times over the legal limit. While the researchers still do not know the exact kind of bacteria that was found in the bottled water, they called the results "disturbing".

On the bottled water industry side, there was unusually little surprise. Elizabeth Griswold of the Canadian Bottled Water Association sounded familiar with the problem. "My understanding is that heterotrophic plate count [bacterial level] is not pathogenic and does not pose a health risk."

While some brands had far more bacteria than others, the researchers have not listed the specific brands tested. More research is being done to find out how dangerous the bacteria is for human consumption.