A Scottish consumer watchdog today warned dirty water coolers may be putting Scots' health at risk, after one in four devices failed contamination tests.
A Scottish consumer watchdog today warned dirty water coolers may be putting Scots' health at risk, after one in four devices failed contamination tests.
In a survey by environmental health officers across Edinburgh, the Lothians and Borders, 26% of coolers failed to meet one or more safety and hygiene standards.
Water coolers in schools, care homes, leisure centres and workplaces were among those which did not pass tests.
Nine out of 52 samples from plumbed-in coolers and 14 out of 35 from bottle-supplied coolers failed because of bacterial contamination.
Consumer Focus Scotland said the findings were a cause for concern and are now calling for a review of the law.
Mary Lawton, Senior Policy Advocate and food policy specialist at Consumer Focus Scotland, said: "We feel the legislation governing the quality of water from coolers should be reviewed.
"While there are regulations for bottled water, these are applicable at time of bottling and there is no legislation specifically for plumbed-in water coolers so we had to take tap water standards as covering these dispensers.
"Ultimately these findings suggest that the cleanliness of water coolers has become a low priority for some organisations who have installed them.
"The time is right for an awareness campaign, not just to get organisations to make sure the coolers on their premises are cleaned and maintained regularly, but also to get people to use them in such a way that they don't contaminate them for the next person."
She said the types of bacteria found have the potential to lead to illness, particularly for vulnerable groups, but are unlikely to make people in good health unwell.
Experts carried out the tests between July and September 2007.
The samples were tested for five bacteria types known to cause illness, particularly in people who are vulnerable due to frailty or existing ill health.
In 14 samples scientists found coliforms, bacteria of soil and gut origin, which may indicate that faecal contamination has occurred.
Four samples contained the bacterium S.aureus which is commonly present in the membranes of the mouth and nose in humans and is present in saliva and the pus of boils and other skin lesions.
Some of the bacteria types found suggested that there had been cross contamination, with a water-cooler user perhaps drinking directly from the tap or touching a bottle neck containing saliva to the tap.
Other types of bacteria found suggested there was a problem with the cleaning and maintenance of the pipe work.
Consumer Focus Scotland called on the Scottish Government and the Food Standards Agency to review legislation governing the quality of water from coolers as it said existing legislation is unclear and therefore difficult to enforce.
It also urged all organisations and individuals with water coolers on their premises to ensure the exterior of the coolers, including the dispensing taps, are cleaned at least once a week.
It said bottled water coolers should be cleaned internally every three months while plumbed-in water coolers should have their filters changed every six months.
Water cooler users should be urged to use units hygienically, and plumbed-in coolers should be attached to a mains water supply rather than be supplied from a tank.
