How
producers get rich through unchecked bottled water brands
Written
by SUNDAY NEWS Reporter
THE
mushrooming of water brands floated in the market has been characterized by
flaws which compromise the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) regulations that
require all water suppliers to be registered and certified in the country.
An
extensive survey by the ‘Sunday News’ in Dar es Salaam recently discovered that some brands including ‘Umoja’
brand, one of the largest suppliers of bottled water in the market and produced
from the so-called Kisarawe hills, in Coast Region, is not registered by TBS
though it bears TBS accreditation and logo.
The
investigation further reveals that other brands which are not registered with
TBS include ‘Trina’ Water produced at Mtoni Kijichi, Mbagala area in Dar es Salaam,
‘Lulu’ from Kibaha Town and ‘Safina’ which is produced in Dar es Salaam and
sold in the market in the city. Our investigations also reveal that all these
brands bear TBS accreditation.
TBS, on
the other hand, provided a current list of 48 bottled water brands (we have the
copy) which are registered and certified by the standards authority. But the
mentioned brands (Umoja, Lulu, Trina Water and Safina) are not in the TBS list
of certified bottled water brands.
Contacted
for comment on the presence of the ‘suspicious brands’ in the market, TBS
Corporate and Public Affairs Officer, Ms Rhoida Andusamile could not respond
immediately. Instead, she requested this paper to provide them with the names
of the brands which are in the market and do not appear in their list of
certified bottled water brands “for further investigations.”
She
further wanted this paper to mention the names of the producers of the
unregistered brands, and the places the bottled water brands are sold.Speaking
to the ‘Sunday News’ over the phone, one of producers of the unregistered
brands (Trina Water) said her brand had all the blessings from TBS before
taking it to the market.
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