Muscat: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources (MAFWR) has warned that bottled water should not be exposed to the rays and heat of the sun and other weather conditions.
Other tips include ensuring that containers are far from sources of high heat and pollution when storing bottled water.
The shelf life of the product is 12 months to avoid any change in its quality.
When using reused bottled water (gallons), care must be taken to keep the refrigerator clean and maintain it regularly.
Store in well-ventilated places at room temperature) and free of strong odors.
Store away from any chemicals, toxic substances, or harmful substances.
There has been this growing concern that drinking water cans are either exposed to direct sunlight during transportation or stored in unhealthy conditions, violating all temperature regulations.
It is widely believed that a chemical called Bisphenol-A (BPA) has been used to harden plastic and is found in water bottles and other
containers. BPA is said to be an endocrine disruptor that interferes with your body's hormones and can be a reason for a number of health concerns, particularly in pregnant women, fetuses, and young children, but also in adults, including hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, and impaired learning.
However, according to International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), PET plastics are identified as safe and suitable for use with foods and
beverages. It added that there is no scientific evidence that consumption of water stored in plastic containers in a warm environment can lead to illnesses such as breast cancer, among others.
In the presence of dioxins, IBWA says these are a family of compounds that can only be formed during combustion at extreme temperatures; they cannot be formed at temperatures likely to be experienced in a hot car or in freezing temperatures.
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