Bottled water found problematic, yet no immediate announcement issued

A designated supplier of bottled water for the government, “O’Sun,” was ordered by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on May 30 to suspend production and rectify quality issues after some product batches failed inspections.

However, the bureau only issued a press release last Friday, June 20, following citizen reports on social media, and it declined to comment on whether it had failed in its duties.

Last Friday morning, a member of the public shared a notice from the University of Macau (UM) on social media, alleging that distilled water procured through government channels was “non-compliant.”

The notice indicated that the university received a notification from the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) on June 19 regarding “O’Sun’s” 18.9-liter distilled water supplied by Miriam Group Limited to public entities.

As stated in the notice, testing by the IAM on the batch produced on May 21, 2025, detected Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, resulting in the product being deemed “unqualified.”

This information led the resident to question why Macau authorities did not issue a public announcement regarding the incident. The Facebook post has since been removed.

Shortly after the public broadcaster TDM reported that the DSF had confirmed the allegations, the IAM released a statement identifying the problematic product batches as those tested on May 7 and May 21.

Two voices of dissent

According to the IAM statement, the two batches tested positive for coliform bacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa levels exceeding the microbial standards outlined in Macau’s guidelines.

It was also noted that these batches of bottled water were not sold in the local retail market but were primarily supplied to government entities and commercial institutions, with an emphasis that they were not supplied to schools or hospitals.

About 20 hours after the announcement that the special-order bottled water had exceeded permissible limits for pathogenic bacteria, the relevant supplier posted two separate statements on its social media on Saturday, titled “Recall Notice” and “Clarification Statement.”

The supplier claimed on certain media pages that online comments and reports were incomplete and inaccurate, clarifying that they had been cooperating with the IAM since May 30 to shut down the factory, conduct a comprehensive cleanup, implement necessary improvements, and carry out re-inspections – contrary to reports suggesting that follow-up improvements began on June 20.

However, the IAM’s statement did not specify a timeline, only indicating that preventive measures against the manufacturer included removing and recalling the affected bottled water products, as well as a thorough cleaning, disinfection, and sampling re-inspection of the production line, with operations resuming only after passing the re-inspection.

According to the supplier’s clarification statement, the abnormal product batches were produced on May 7 and 21, not “starting from May 7” as stated in relevant reports, emphasizing that these same batches had passed quality inspections.

The statement raised concerns about the technical personnel from the equipment manufacturer, auditors from the national certification authority, and IAM staff who conducted random inspections.

The supplier also noted that it routinely maintains testing reagents for regular self-inspections and has cooperated with the IAM on multiple random inspections and submissions for testing, concluding that the issue was not related to the raw water supply.

Recently, some customers returned water containers, citing instances of “malicious contamination,” prompting the company to dispose of these containers and investigate alternative causes of contamination.

To address potential process gaps, the supplier further stated it implemented additional procedures, including using a washing machine to clean the inside and outside of the containers. Furthermore, staff from the bureau’s Food Safety Division conducted tests on the company’s products on June 1 and 13, with results meeting standards, while the company also performed self-inspections in its laboratory.

No clarifications yet

In response to the company’s statement and online allegations against the IAM, the Times emailed the authorities on Sunday for clarification, including whether they were aware of issues with the company’s products as early as May 30 and if they had “deliberately” concealed the matter.

The inquiry also questioned whether the authorities had failed to fulfill their duties. While the authorities’ press release stated that the affected products were not supplied to schools or hospitals, a statement from the University of Macau indicated that on June 19, it was notified by the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) of the incident.

The Times sought to confirm the accuracy of this statement and questioned why the food safety notice was issued by the DSF rather than the IAM.

Despite a prior inquiry in May that had not received a response, the Times requested a reply by Monday and notifying the authorities’ press contact via WhatsApp.

As of publication time, no response had been received from the authorities.

Meanwhile, the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center announced yesterday that it has suspended the certification qualification for the “M-Mark” drinking purified water products under the “O’Sun” brand.

The company is required to submit a written explanation of the quality issues and an action plan within one week, as well as propose effective corrective and preventive measures within 30 days for review by the technical audit unit.