Assessment of Some Physico-chemical Properties and Bacteriological Status of Sachet Water Consumed in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana

Sachet water has become an important source of drinking water but little is known about bacteriological quality and quality control improvements with the rapid development of the industry. The study assessed the bacterial load and physical properties of sachet water sold in the Hohoe municipality of Ghana. The study was done in October 2016 and involved nine sachet water manufacturing sites within the municipality. Two (2) samples of each brand of sachet water were randomly selected from the manufacturing sites and the market. Therefore, a total of 36 sachet water samples were processed for Total Coliforms (TC) and Escherichia coli (EC) in colony-forming units (cfu) per 100 ml using membrane filtration method and Compact Dry EC media. Physical characteristics of the samples such as temperature, colour, odour, hydrogen ion concentration (pH), conductivity, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) were also investigated. The mean values for pH, Conductivity and TDS were 6.8, 41.7 µS/cm, 23.0 mg/L respectively. Four (11.1%) samples with blinded labels AV4, EM1, FM1, and IV4 had TC of 5 cfu/100 ml each. Two (5.6%) samples with labels EM1 and FM1 had E. coli of 4 cfu/100 ml and 5 cfu/100 ml respectively. Colour was similar (5 HU) for all the samples with unobjectionable odour. Contamination with E. coli was statistically dependent on the growth of TC (P < .05). The presence of E. coli is an indication and presence of faecal elements in the sachet water. This is critical and various stakeholders should sensitize and monitor production of sachet water in the municipality and in the country, Ghana. Further study into causes of contamination is recommended.