Sunyani (B/A) Aug. 29. GNA - A Chief Chemist in Sunyani on Monday urged producers of bottled and sachet water not to make the acquisition of money be the primary aim of their productivity but to ensure that their products are safe and wholesome for human consumption.

Mr. Emmanuel Fofie expressed concern about microbiological, physical and chemical contamination in sachet and bottled water, which he said had contributed to the alarming rate of typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.

He was addressing about 50 producers of sachet water in the various districts in Brong-Ahafo at a one-day workshop organised by the Ashanti Regional office of Food and Drugs Board in Sunyani. Mr. Fofie stressed the need for such companies to pass through the required procedures for establishing such companies at the Board to ensure the provision of quality water, devoid of contamination on the market.

Mr. Joseph Yaw-Bernie Bennie, Senior Regulatory Officer at the Ashanti Regional Office of the Board took the participants through Food and Drugs Laws, procedure for the registration of packaged drinking water, as well as environmental and personal sanitation. He emphasized that the Board was not trampling on the rights of any individual or group but was mandated by PNDC Law 305 (b) to ensure the health of the people. On the prices of bottled and sachet water, Mr. Bennie underscored the need for the producers to unite and form an independent Association that would help set prices for the products, adding the Board had no authority in determining such prices.

He advised the water producers to establish cordial relationship with their distributors to help ensure quality and safety of their products. Aug. 29 05