THE FOOD Safety Authority of Ireland has ordered the recall of bulk supplies of Fionnuisce mineral water after tests found low levels of E.Coli.
The company, while accepting the authority’s decision, said its own tests showed no trace of E.Coli in the affected 18.9 litre bulk containers, which are mostly supplied to offices and businesses.
The authority said the water was unsafe for consumption and could present a health risk.
Fionnuisce, which is based in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, said in a statement the risk was “negligible” because the level of E.Coli was so low.
The incident is the latest in a series of controversies involving packaged mineral waters, with tests carried out by the authority in 2007 showing 1 per cent of waters containing E.Coli.
Fionnuisce said it had begun contacting customers directly and was replacing customers’ stocks of water from an alternative source while the matter was investigated and rectified.
The bulk product was not sold directly to the public.
The authority said the water was withdrawn as a precautionary measure as a result of routine inspection and testing of bottled water premises by environmental health officers.
Supplies of smaller, standard size Fionnuisce bottled water are not affected, as the water comes from a separate source.
Fionnuisce said it tested its waters regularly and all tests have been “consistently clear”.
After HSE staff took samples of its water last week it sent its own samples to an independent laboratory.
According to the company, neither the independent lab nor the HSE can explain the anomaly between the two results. “Clearly such conflicts in results give rise to problems for water producers,” it said.