FSQC warns people to avoid using Al Buraimi bottled drinking water

Muscat: The Food Safety and Quality Center (FSQC) has warned people to avoid using bottled drinking water bearing Al Buraimi brand as it is contaminated by exceeding the maximum permissible limits of bromate.

The Food Safety and Quality Centre reports that some “bottled drinking water” products, produced by the Sultanate of Oman, of the “Al Buraimi” brand, weighing 200 ml, have been contaminated to exceed the maximum permissible limits of bromate.

In the interest of consumer health and safety, the centre is currently working to ensure that local markets are free of affected products, if any, in coordination with the concerned authorities. The centre recommends all consumers to avoid using the product and get rid of the quantities available to them

Bromate is a by-product formed when drinking water is disinfected to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. The disinfection process is called ozonation. Bromate has no taste or colour and is not found in nature. It is not normally found in water but it is found in some public water supply systems that disinfect using the ozonation process.

Some people who ingested large amounts of bromate had gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Some individuals who ingested high concentrations of bromate also experienced kidney effects, nervous system effects and hearing loss.