Fluoride In Bottled Water Found In Kuwait

Method: Fifty five brands of bottled water; local and imported were found in Kuwait. Three of each was collected from grocery shops, supermarkets and hypermarkets. Samples were spring, mineral, distilled, or carbonated mineral waters. Label fluoride values were recorded and three samples of each brand were blinded before sending for lab analysis. Lab values for fluoride in these samples were analyzed at Kuwait institute for Scientific Research (KISR) using Fluoride Ion-Selective Electrode Method (FISEM). Data on water consumption was obtained from questionnaire administered on 1430 adults visiting our centers in different governorates.

Result: There were 55 brands of bottled water from 18 countries, mainly from Saudi Arabia (30.9%), Kuwait (14.5%), and UAE (9%). Overall, fluoride content in bottled water sold in Kuwait according to label was 0.4±0.5 mg/L, whereas, the laboratory fluoride content was 0.5±0.5 mg/L. Fifteen types of bottled water were having fluoride within the range of optimum level (0.7-1.2) mg/L, thirteen where from KSA, and the mean for all was 1.01±0.11mg/L. Most of the people (68.4%) consumed both bottled and tap water, whereas 7.3% consumed bottled water alone and 23.5% had only tap water.

Conclusion: There was negligible difference between the lab and label values for fluoride in bottled water. There was a wide variation in fluoride concentration and most of them were below the optimum level needed for caries prevention. Since significant number of people consumed bottled water, there should be regulations to monitor the concentration of fluoride in bottled water. Also, more efforts should be made for educating the public about its importance.