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Half of Liaoning's bottled water 'unhygienic'

By Wang Qian (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-08 10:00

Nearly half of all bottled water used in dispensers in Liaoning province fails to meet health standards, a study by the provincial quality safety bureau has found.

The test covered all of the northeast region's 120 bottled water factories, with only 52 percent of the products meeting the government's hygiene standards, Xinhua reported yesterday.

The substandard water reportedly contains excessive amounts of microorganisms and nitrite.

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Excessive microorganisms can mean too much bacteria is polluting the water, while absorbing too much nitrite can cause cancer in the digestive system.

The affected bottled water producers did not pay enough attention to hygiene during the manufacturing process, Xinhua reported.

Improving supervision in manufacturing and technology of water purification are also crucial in maintaining hygiene standards for the products, the news agency reported.

The provincial government said that the Liaoning bureau of quality and technical supervision will send experts to investigate the substandard products and provide adequate measures for the affected producers to address the issue, Xinhua reported.

The bureau also tested juice, milk and various foods covering 245 products from 226 factories in 14 regions including the provincial capital Shenyang as well as Dalian and Anshan, also in Liaoning, Xinhua reported.

More than 80 percent of the beverages and food from Dandong, Liaoyang, Benxi, Yingkou and Shenyang met health standards, while more than half of the products from Tieling, Huludao, Dalian and Chaoyang failed, Xinhua reported.

All 14 dairy drinks factories and 20 juice producers tested reportedly met the national standard for beverages, while more than 80 percent of food tested passed the test.

A number of consumers were worried about the results of the latest tests on bottled water in the region.

Zhai Yujia, a 27-year-old employee of a foreign trading company in Dalian, told China Daily on Wednesday that she drinks bottled water from dispensers every day and is now worried about the "potential risks" to her health.

"The government should strengthen supervision over bottled water manufacturers," Zhai said.