Pesticide residues found in water bottles, says FDA

Contamination due to improper water sourcing, poor quality control

- RISHITA KHANNA @Bengaluru

The Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday said the presence of pesticide residues and high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS), the primary contaminants, were reasons to flag several packaged drinking water samples from Bengaluru as "unsafe" and "substandard".

Following an FDA report on 255 samples which were tested, 95 samples across Karnataka were unsafe to drink, and 88 were of substandard quality. FDA officials told TNIE that out of 27 contaminated samples in Bengaluru, the majority tested positive for pesticide residues, and the rest tested positive for excess TDS and other mineral imbalances, which can potentially affect kidneys and can even cause cancer.