According to research by water safety expert at the University of Ghana, no single bottled water company in Ghana is producing water that contains minerals.

Bottled mineral water is the preferred choice of water for the middle and high class in Ghana. Consumers say it is the most expensive and the safest too.

According to experts, those who have been consuming water labeled “mineral water” thinking they will get useful minerals like calcium, magnesium or iron to improve their health and nutrition should rethink it.

The Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, Professor Kwaku Tanoh-Debrah, with over three decades research into water safety in Ghana says bottled mineral water producers have been deceiving the consumers.

In an interview with Joy News’ Raymond Acquah, Prof Tanoh-Debrah said he is baffled that companies advertise their bottled water as containing minerals.

“If you want to call water mineral water, it should have some useful minerals in certain concentrations. The levels that are there are so low that they don’t qualify as mineral water,” Prof Tanoh-Debrah.

He said what consumers see on the shelves are, “very purified water that they [producers] have taken away a lot of the dissolved substances. That actually makes tap water healthier.”

He explained that during the reverse osmosis system, producers take away all the dissolved minerals to the lowest level, which makes it even acidic to the extent that tap water is better.

According to Prof Tanoh-Debrah, “if the water comes from spring sources you should be sure that the water has no arsenic three, which is a heavy metal [carcinogenic] that is dangerous to our health. Spring is one of the sources of trihydrate form of arsenic, which is highly toxic.”