Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides us with an opportunity to outline to the House the position in this regard.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has advised that no public health and safety implications arise from the draft report on bottled water. The report, currently being finalised, provides an historical account of the extent of compliance with the regulations on bottled waters on sale in Ireland during the final four months of 2007.

The FSAI carries out several surveys on different products on an annual basis. During 2007, such a survey was conducted in the area of bottled water. The report outlines the results of this survey. During the course of these surveys, appropriate action is taken in the event of the identification of any goods not compliant with existing legislation. Where public health is at risk, the details are made public immediately. In this case, however, the FSAI considered that there was no risk to public health.

The survey showed that a number of products were not in full compliance with the bottled water regulations. The report gives a snapshot of bottled water on the market in 2007, where a number of samples — ten out of 952 or 1% — were detected with very low levels of e.coli. In 99% of cases, the samples were found to be compliant. The FSAI considers that the presence of e. coli at such levels does not pose a threat to public health. Coliforms were found in 6.3% of bottled water samples. These are bacteria used to assess the standards of hygiene of the water source or the bottling process. The FSAI view is that the presence of coliforms in bottled water does not necessarily indicate a risk to consumer health.

No products were deemed to have been unsafe during the course of the surveillance period. In addition, industry measures to improve the quality of affected products were taken quickly. The FSAI did not consider it necessary, therefore, to take stronger enforcement action. This is in line with normal practice and proportionate to the nature of the non-compliance detected. This is also consistent with the FSAI working to develop an Irish food safety culture of commitment rather than one of mere compliance.

While the FSAI deemed that there was no threat to public health, follow-up actions were taken to ensure full compliance of all products with the bottled water regulations. Environmental health officers conducted follow-up sampling, on an ongoing basis. No problems were found during the first six months of 2008. The FSAI has assured the public that there is no cause for concern about the safety of bottled waters on the Irish market.

The FSAI report will be published in its entirety during the next couple of weeks when the scientific review process is complete.

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