Nestlé Egypt Recalls Bottled Water as ‘Precautionary Measure’ Following Contamination Report

Nestlé Egypt has begun recalling its bottled water products suspected to contain “unacceptable levels” of bacteria following a report from health inspectors that found some products to be contaminated, the company announced in a statement.

Last week, local media outlets reported that inspectors from the health ministry’s Health and Food Control Administration found high levels of algae and E. coli bacteria in tested water samples from bottling plants belonging to Nestlé and PepsiCo’s Aquafina in the Beheira and Sharqiya governorates. According to the investigators’ report, the bacteria levels found in the samples made the water “unfit for human consumption.”

According to the report, the issue arose with the 1.5 L bottles for the three companies, Nestlé’s 330 ml bottles and Aquafina’s 600 ml bottles. The health ministry ordered the companies to recall these bottles and present them to public prosecution for further investigation.

Nestlé confirmed in its statement, released on Saturday, that it has since recalled its 1.5 L and 330 ml bottles from the market.

The company maintained that the recall was a “precautionary measure” and that all of its products currently available for sale are “100% safe.”

Aquafina and Nestlé’s Pure Life control a combined 71 percent of Egypt’s bottled water market, according to a 2013 report from the Egyptian Competition Authority.