Abu Dhabi: A local resident was shocked to discover dark substances, possibly mud, floating in two bottles of drinking water delivered to his home by a water company.
Denny Joseph, a Khalidiya resident, told Gulf News two five gallon containers of drinking water were delivered to his home on March 25 by Oasis Pure Drinking Water.
"When I saw the dark particles in the water, I did not open the seals," he said.
He contacted the company's customer care centre and they said somebody from the quality control department would contact him. Joseph said when there was no response from the company, he contacted a sales supervisor in Abu Dhabi who promised to look into the matter that evening, but still in vain.
"I have been purchasing the same brand of water for five years," he said.
Joseph showed Gulf News the sealed bottles, with the date of packaging shown as March 24, 2008, Abu Dhabi, and the expiry date as June 22, 2008.
The complainant said in the end he approached the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority because the water company did not respond to his complaints, even after several days. Joseph submitted the two sealed bottles to the ADFCA on Sunday.
The ADFCA told Gulf News the matter was under investigation.
"We have taken samples of the water for appropriate tests," said Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa, of the communication and information department at the ADFCA.
He thanked the customer for taking up the issue with the authority. He requested the public to bring any contaminated items to the authority without opening the seals. "We will take strict action after our investigation," said Al Reyaysa.
Oasis, in a statement issued to Gulf News, said: "We are glad that the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority has been asked to investigate the bottles, as we also intended to do so in our labs, had the customer allowed us to pick them up. We look forward to the outcome of the investigation by the ADFCA; only then can we comment on this matter."
In an earlier statement Oasis explained they had contacted the customer on April 6 but he refused to hand over the "muddy bottles" for investigation.
"We offered to send our plant manager to his door, at a time that was convenient for him, in order to investigate the bottles. We also offered the customer a full tour of our factory so that he might see how our products are bottled and handled. Our objective was to reassure this customer of the safety of our products. However, as it turns out, the customer refused to return the bottles, see the plant manager or accept the factory tour. At this point, there's nothing more we can do."
"We have taken samples of the water for appropriate tests. We will take strict action after our investigation,"said Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa, ADFCA communication department.
Oasis Pure Drinking Water company said in a statement, "We are glad that the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority has been asked to investigate the bottles, as we also intended to do so in our labs."
