Quality characteristics and safety of smoke-flavoured water

Smoke-flavoured water is produced in Ghana by filling a previously smoked container with potable water and allowing the water to condition with the smoke to attain a characteristic rain water flavour. Owing to the current knowledge on the toxicity, carcinogenicity and other safety issues of some smoke-constituents, the commercial production of the product is becoming a public health concern. This study sought to determine the effects of the smoke-flavouring process on the quality characteristics of smoke-flavoured water to predict the safety of the product. A traditional and a commercial protocol for the production of smoke-flavoured water were simulated in the laboratory and at the site of a company which used to produce the product, respectively. Samples of the flavoured water produced were analyzed for pH, colour, turbidity, conductivity, total hardness, dissolved oxygen content (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon constituents (PAHs), coliform count, and flavour acceptability. Data obtained were evaluated in reference to data on control samples prepared during the investigations. The results obtained suggested that the smoke-flavouring process may not significantly change most of the physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of the water processed, and thus not affect the drinking quality characteristics of the water. The process however has the potential of adding some organic compounds, which could include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the group that may have the toxicity and carcinogenic effects. The types of PAHs and their concentrations are expected to vary with the process characteristics, but could be insignificantly low to affect the safety of the water. The results suggest a need for some standardization of the process.