Análisis de la calidad del agua envasada según la norma técnica ecuatoriana INEN 2200

Abstract

There are standards and criteria to check the quality of water for human consumption. This must meet certain requirements, so that in this way it does not represent a risk to the health of individuals who consume it. The objective of this paper is to analyze the standards and criteria that regulate the quality of bottled water, through a review of the scientific literature to identify the requirements that make it suitable for human consumption. The methodology applied in this work was a bibliographic review of scientific articles and other relevant literature. According to studies related to physicochemical parameters, in Ecuador and Colombia all the samples analyzed complied with the regulations, while in Peru, out of 11 brands, 6 did not. Regarding the microbiological parameters in Ecuador of 9 samples, all appeared contamination. In El Salvador, out of 1,544 samples, 99.7% complied and in Pakistan, out of 24 samples, two presented contamination. In addition, it is concluded that there are regulations that allow the regulation of the quality of bottled water. In our country, the Ecuadorian Technical Standard INEN 2200 establishes the requirements that bottled water for human consumption must meet, among which are the physical and microbiological requirements. In the regulations of Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and El Salvador, some maximum permitted limits of physicochemical parameters are similar while others are not. However, in the microbiological parameters, all regulations state that there should be no presence of pathogenic microorganisms.