Fluoride Content in Bottled Water in Fiji

Methods: Commercially available bottled water in Fiji, in March 2006 was purchased from supermarkets. Three bottles of 11 brands were purchased. Ten millilitres of each water sample was mixed with 2 millilitres of spands reagent; these were then tested for fluoride concentrations using photo spectrometry at wavelength of 580 nanometres. The fluoride concentrations listed on the sample labels were also noted and compared with the results obtained from the spectrometry test.

Results: The mean (+ standard deviation) fluoride content of the bottled water samples was 0.09 (+ 0.05) ppm. None of the brands tested labelled the fluoride concentration in the bottled water. The range of fluoride concentration was between 0.02 to 0.34 ppm, which is below the accepted standard for optimally fluoridated water. There was also a vast variation of fluoride concentrations within the same brand of product.

Conclusions: This study has shown that commercially available bottled drinking waters in Fiji contain a wide range of concentrations of fluoride and none of the manufacturers labelled the content of fluoride on the bottle. Labelling the content of fluoride is a vital consumer information especially in paediatric patients since this allows parents to make informed decisions. It was also noted that none of the brands contained optimal levels of fluoride that is needed to prevent dental caries without causing dental fluorosis.