PCRWR Flags 27 Bottled Water Brands as Unsafe in Latest Quarterly Report

The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has declared 27 bottled and mineral water brands unsafe for consumption in its latest quarterly monitoring report covering July to September 2026, according to local media reports.

The council tested samples from 223 bottled water brands across 20 cities, assessing both chemical and microbiological quality. Of these, 195 brands met the overall safety requirements, while 27 were classified as unsafe.

The breakdown of the findings shows that chemical testing flagged six brands as unsafe, whereas microbiological testing identified 22 brands that failed to meet standards. Because a brand can fail more than one test, the two figures together account for the 27 brands placed on the unsafe list.

Samples were collected from a wide geographic spread, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Multan, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Quetta, Tando Jam, Gujranwala, Badin, Sialkot, Dera Ismail Khan, Bahawalpur, Karachi, Lahore, Mianwali, Muzaffarabad, Gilgit and Sukkur.

The findings are likely to be of interest to consumers who rely on packaged water for drinking, particularly in urban centres where bottled brands are widely used in homes, offices and restaurants. PCRWR publishes these monitoring results periodically as part of its mandate to assess water quality across the country.

Consumers are advised to check the current list of flagged brands published in the full report before making purchases, and to look for products carrying valid certification and clear labelling. The council's quarterly testing programme is intended to give the public reliable information about the safety of packaged drinking water.