China's New Packaged Drinking Water Standard Expected by Year-End: Total Bacterial Count Test Removed, Pathogens in Focus

Health and safety issues around bottled water continue to draw attention. The earlier 'bacteria scandal' once again prompted consumers to question bottled water quality, while total bacterial count has long been one of the most frequent causes of failed spot checks. The industry expects that once the new national standard for packaged drinking water takes effect, this situation may change.

Not long ago, the National Food Safety Standard - Packaged Drinking Water was reviewed and approved at the tenth directors' meeting of the National Food Safety Standard Review Committee. One especially noteworthy change in the standard is that the total bacterial count testing indicator has been removed.

West China microbiology expert: good bacteria may be present, bad bacteria must face zero tolerance

For a long time, terms such as bacteria and total bacterial count have been widely viewed as harmful and best avoided. Why did the new national standard remove this indicator? The key is that bacteria can be good or bad, and the human body cannot do without beneficial bacteria.

Professor Li Zaiming of the Second Affiliated Hospital of West China University of Medical Sciences explained that humans have always lived in a world shared with bacteria, and even part of the human body is made up of bacteria; without bacteria, humans could not survive. There are many types of bacteria, but the vast majority are beneficial, and only a very small number of pathogenic bacteria are harmful to humans.

For this reason, the new standard removes the total bacterial count test while adding a pathogenic bacteria test. Professor Li used an analogy: if total bacteria in drinking water were compared to a crowd of people, the new standard does not care how large the crowd is; it leaves the good people alone and targets only the bad ones - zero tolerance for pathogenic bacteria.

China Consumers Association rights expert: removing total bacterial count test is more responsible

Yang Yonglan, a rights protection expert at the China Consumers Association, said the new standard draws on and references standards from the World Health Organization, the European Union and others. It clearly stipulates that if even one pathogenic bacterium is detected, the product is non-compliant. This protects consumer health and provides strong support for consumer rights protection.

Yang Yonglan therefore believes the new packaged drinking water standard is responsible for consumer health and gives consumers clear rules to follow in protecting their rights. She hopes the already-approved standard will be officially published and implemented as soon as possible.

Bottled water is still regarded as 'safe and healthy drinking water'

In recent years, concerns about various forms of water pollution have led many families to drink bottled water or use it for cooking. Bottled water, especially bottled mineral water, has also been praised by many experts as safe and healthy drinking water.

As the bottled water industry expanded rapidly, some unfair market competition practices emerged. The new packaged drinking water standard, now reviewed and approved and soon to be published and implemented, offers a basis for resolving disputes over disorderly market competition. Professor Li Fuxing, a renowned Chinese expert on drinking water issues, believes the new standard will help bottled water completely shake off the troubles of the 'bacteria scandal' and maintain its position as safe and healthy drinking water. Now and even for decades to come - before environmental pollution and water pollution are fundamentally improved - bottled water will remain an important guarantee for people's drinking water health.

Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361801.html