Investigating the Taste, Odor and Appearance of Selected Bottled and Sachet Sold Drinking Water in Burkina Faso

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Résumé

Background: Drinking water should be harmless to its consumers and aspects such as appearance, taste and/or odor should be acceptable. In Burkina Faso, the sold bottled and sachet drinking waters are not always respecting the quality in terms of potability. Method: In this study we investigated the appearance, taste and/or odor of eleven (11) selected bottled and sachet waters sold in Burkina Faso through a set of five (05) water treatment professionals with ten (10) organoleptic parameters been considered (Organic Solvent, Metallic, Chlorine, Fishy, Sulfur, Earthy, Bitter, Fruity, Spoiled, and Sour). Results: The study showed that all the investigated waters have unpleasant taste and/or odor, with the worst cases in all five (05) brands sachet waters. The bad quality of the sachet waters is generally due to the conditioning (sun, dust, rain). Ouagadougou tap water showed unpleasant chlorine odor mainly caused by the “remanent” chlorine. However, that chlorine ensure the water safety to its consumers. Conclusion: This study showed that the best way to drink safe water in Burkina Faso is to supply a good quality tap water to its population, and to improve the taste and/or odor. Since the sold bottled and sachet waters are not yet well regulated in terms of their quality, the country should be aware of the current study in order to improve the sold drinking water quality

Mots-clés

Burkina Faso, Bottled Water, Sachet Water, Tap Water, Organoleptic