While we are waiting for the Institute of Public Health of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) to announce who is the manufacturer of the bottled water in which bacteria were found that should not have been there, journalists have come to new information about this case.
In the aforementioned institution, a vow of silence has been in effect for two weeks since the announcement that the bacteria were present, because no one from this institution has answered the key questions. Among them is not only the question who is the manufacturer of the water in which bacteria were found, but also whether those who drank that water are at health risk.
The most responsible for this is the director of the FBiH Public Health Institute, Sinisa Skocibusic, who did not answer these questions or explain why it is not announced which water is unhealthy. The institution, which Skocibusic leads, ignores journalists’ inquiries from November 18th and 28th.
The authorities assure that the disputed water has been withdrawn from the market, but, according to findings, this has not happened. In order for a product to be withdrawn, it must be done by the Food Safety Agency of BiH in coordination with the competent inspection. As it was found out, neither the agency nor the inspection was involved in it. When it is necessary to withdraw a product from the market, then it must be in accordance with the Food Law of BiH and publicly announced, but this has not been done.
On the website of the Food Safety Agency, which publishes information about products which were withdrawn, it was not announced that bottled water was also withdrawn.
It is also suspected that the monitoring of 70 samples of bottled water is not appropriate and that the samples were taken from bottled water sold in the area of Istocno Sarajevo and Brcko District.
As it was found out, waters in which, among others, Escherichia coli, pseudomonas and faecal streptococci were found are not so represented on the market and there is not a great demand for them. However, this does not diminish the importance of this problem.
It is claimed that a very small number of employees of the FBiH Public Health Institute know which bottled waters are disputed. To recall, the entity institute analyzed 70 samples of bottled water, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
