What's that smell? Shoppers complain over ‘strange taste and odour’ of Woolworths-sold bottled water
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When we think of bottled water, we often imagine a crisp, clean taste that's as refreshing as a mountain spring.
But for some Melbourne shoppers, their sip of water came with an unexpected and unpleasant surprise—a strange odour that left them wrinkling their noses in disgust.
The issue came to light after customers reported an off-putting smell emanating from 600ml bottles of Pureau water purchased at a local Woolworths store.
With nine complaints lodged directly to the manufacturer, it was clear that something was amiss. The batch in question, #23926, had been delivered to Woolworths Dandenong on 29 August, and it didn't take long for the problem to bubble up to the surface.
Pureau, quick to respond to the concerns, launched an investigation and traced the source of the strange taste and odour back to a damaged pipe.
The culprit? A drainage pipe located beneath the bottle line that had recently undergone repair work.
'The line itself was broken some meters underground, and there was a smell evident from the drain,' a spokesperson for Pureau explained.
‘These repairs were carried out as soon as the issue was identified, however the smell was evident for some time following the rectification work.’
‘We believe that this smell may have created the odour issues evident in some of the bottles from this day’s production run.’
‘A change in our procedures for start-up of the bottle line has been instigated while the odour is evident, which includes where necessary a drain flush and air movement via fans.’
‘We hope that the work has resolved the issue and the smell resolves itself short term.’
In terms of safety, Pureau has reassured customers that every batch of their water undergoes independent testing by the accredited laboratory ALS.
‘Clearly there is an issue with some bottles affected by an odour as our customers, most of which are long-standing Pureau drinkers, are very vocal if they feel that Pureau is in some way not meeting the usual quality standards,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Based on the micro testing we believe that it is an odour issue only as the test results would show if the water itself was in any way contaminated with organic or inorganics.’
It's worth noting that the 600ml bottled water is produced in the same facility as Pureau’s larger 2L, 5L, and 10L products.
However, there have been no complaints about these other sizes, suggesting that the issue was isolated to the smaller bottles.
‘We are in contact with Woolworths today with an update on the issue and its resolution,’ the spokesperson said.
Pureau has proactively addressed the concerns, contacting every customer who reported a problem and offering refunds along with sincere apologies. Further testing is also being conducted on the products for additional ‘peace of mind’.
Woolworths, for its part, has deferred comments on the matter to Pureau, who is taking the lead in resolving the issue.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services Food Safety has been contacted for comment, ensuring that all necessary steps are being taken to safeguard consumer health.
Have you experienced any issues with bottled water recently? Share your stories with us in the comments below!
But for some Melbourne shoppers, their sip of water came with an unexpected and unpleasant surprise—a strange odour that left them wrinkling their noses in disgust.
The issue came to light after customers reported an off-putting smell emanating from 600ml bottles of Pureau water purchased at a local Woolworths store.
With nine complaints lodged directly to the manufacturer, it was clear that something was amiss. The batch in question, #23926, had been delivered to Woolworths Dandenong on 29 August, and it didn't take long for the problem to bubble up to the surface.
Shoppers reported a ‘strange taste and odour’ in Pureau bottled waters. Credit: Shutterstock
Pureau, quick to respond to the concerns, launched an investigation and traced the source of the strange taste and odour back to a damaged pipe.
The culprit? A drainage pipe located beneath the bottle line that had recently undergone repair work.
'The line itself was broken some meters underground, and there was a smell evident from the drain,' a spokesperson for Pureau explained.
‘These repairs were carried out as soon as the issue was identified, however the smell was evident for some time following the rectification work.’
‘We believe that this smell may have created the odour issues evident in some of the bottles from this day’s production run.’
‘A change in our procedures for start-up of the bottle line has been instigated while the odour is evident, which includes where necessary a drain flush and air movement via fans.’
‘We hope that the work has resolved the issue and the smell resolves itself short term.’
In terms of safety, Pureau has reassured customers that every batch of their water undergoes independent testing by the accredited laboratory ALS.
‘Clearly there is an issue with some bottles affected by an odour as our customers, most of which are long-standing Pureau drinkers, are very vocal if they feel that Pureau is in some way not meeting the usual quality standards,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Based on the micro testing we believe that it is an odour issue only as the test results would show if the water itself was in any way contaminated with organic or inorganics.’
It's worth noting that the 600ml bottled water is produced in the same facility as Pureau’s larger 2L, 5L, and 10L products.
However, there have been no complaints about these other sizes, suggesting that the issue was isolated to the smaller bottles.
‘We are in contact with Woolworths today with an update on the issue and its resolution,’ the spokesperson said.
Pureau has proactively addressed the concerns, contacting every customer who reported a problem and offering refunds along with sincere apologies. Further testing is also being conducted on the products for additional ‘peace of mind’.
Woolworths, for its part, has deferred comments on the matter to Pureau, who is taking the lead in resolving the issue.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services Food Safety has been contacted for comment, ensuring that all necessary steps are being taken to safeguard consumer health.
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the amount of tap water I drink a day it would cost me around $100.00 a day in bottled water.
