ZCSA cautions consumers of mineral water
By Staff Reporter
THE Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) has called on consumers to shun buying unlabelled mineral water packaged in sachets and bottles.
“We are in a transitional period from cold season to hot season and usually during the hot season, different brands of bottled mineral water is sold in the market. This is because the demand for water is higher during the hot season as compared to the cold season,” Lee Haamunji, who is ZCSA public relations officer, stated in a press release yesterday.
He noted that summer would trigger manifestation of several brands of bottled mineral water in the market.
“Because of this, there is great need that consumers shun buying unlabelled bottled mineral water for the sake of their health,” Haamunji stated.
“According to the Zambian Standards ZS 033, all products are supposed to be labelled in a language that is familiar to the target clients so that consumers make informed choices before they make a purchase”.
He added that product labelling was becoming synonymous with consumer protection.
“With more and more products in the market, product labelling is growing in importance daily. Everyday products are multiplying in the market place and consumers are offered a variety of products to choose from and use. Consumers need information on products such as the name, price, contents of the product, and directions for use, storage and warnings of dangers, if any,” stated Haamunji.
“The safety of unlabelled bottled mineral water is not assured, as such ZCSA will continue carrying out its inspections to ensure that products such as bottled mineral water is safe for consumption”.
He said consumers had a part to play by ensuring that they protect their health and shun from buying products that are not correctly labelled and report any such products if found on the market.
The standard for bottled mineral water is ZS 388 which falls within the umbrella of compulsory standards.
