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A Montreal laboratory has been able to find "revolting" levels of bacteria in bottled water, which could put certain susceptible people at risk. Bottled water was tested for bacteria by the researchers from C-crest Laboratories in Montreal, soon after a fellow employee complained of a foul taste from some bottled water and became sick.

The researchers tested a few popular brands, the names of which they didn’t disclose. It was found that more than 70 per cent of the samples contained high level of bacteria, which exceeds recommended limits in the U. S. Sonish Azam, one of the researchers in the study, said, “There were so many that at first, we couldn't count. We had to dilute the samples”.

The researchers found heterotrophic bacteria, which usually survives by consuming organic matter. The limits of heterotrophic bacteria counts in bottled drinking water has not been set by regulatory bodies like the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Health Canada.

A Health Canada Spokesperson said, “Bottled water is considered to be a food product and is regulated under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations. These regulations include requirements for microbiological quality, composition and labeling”.

Azam stated that tap water is purer than bottled water.