Kwabena Kwabena Calls Out FDA after Finding Discolored Sachet Water From Same Bag
Ghanaian musician Kwabena Kwabena has sparked fresh concerns about the safety of sachet water in Ghana after sharing a video showing clear and yellowish sachets of water from the same bag.
In the video filmed in his kitchen, Kwabena Kwabena, dressed in a black singlet, explains that he no longer trusts tap water and now buys bottled water to drink and sachet water to cook. He says he bought a bag of sachet water a few weeks ago and noticed a worrying change.
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Holding up the sachets to the camera, he shows the stark difference. While some sachets from the bag remain clear, at least two others have turned a distinct yellow-brown color with visible particles inside.
“This is serious,” he says in the video, visibly disturbed. “The same bag, but look at the difference.”
The sachets in the video appear to bear the branding “Voltic Cool 500ml”.
Kwabena Kwabena’s complaint taps into a long-standing anxiety for many Ghanaians. Sachet water, popularly called “pure water,” is the primary source of drinking water for millions, but its quality control has been repeatedly questioned.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) Ghana has itself raised alarms in recent months. The Authority has warned that some producers rely only on Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration, which does not kill all microorganisms, and fail to maintain the mandatory Ultraviolet (UV) sterilization lights that destroy bacteria and viruses.
Just last month, the FDA seized a truckload of flood-damaged bottled and sachet water in Accra after reports that distributors in Alajo were washing mud-covered products at a residence in Bubiashie and preparing them for resale. The FDA warned that floodwater carries sewage and contaminants that compromise seals, and consumption could lead to cholera, typhoid, and dysentery.
The Authority has also announced expanded testing for heavy metals like lead in all packaged water following environmental pollution concerns.
