Chlorine Water Taste Threshold and Acceptability among Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Populations in Rural Panama

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Water Quality
• Sensory Science

Background:

• Over two billion people globally lack access to safely managed drinking water.
• Chlorination is a key method for ensuring water safety, but taste can be a barrier to adoption.
• Limited data exists on chlorine taste thresholds in Indigenous and rural Latin American populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare free chlorine taste and acceptability thresholds in rural Indigenous Ngäbe and rural Latino Panamanians.
• To determine if taste aversion limits the use of chlorinated community water systems in Panama.
• To establish best-estimate taste thresholds for these specific populations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the three-alternative forced choice (3-AFC) test methodology.
• Assessed free chlorine taste and acceptability thresholds.
• Recruited 82 Indigenous Ngäbe and 64 Latino participants from rural Panama.

Main Results:

• Median taste thresholds were 0.87 mg/L Cl2 for Ngäbe and 1.64 mg/L Cl2 for Latino participants.
• These thresholds are higher than the minimum safe water concentration (0.2 mg/L) and Panama's recommended range (0.3-0.8 mg/L).
• Median acceptability thresholds were significantly higher at 3.45 mg/L Cl2.

Conclusions:

• The ability to accurately taste chlorine is unlikely to be the primary limiting factor for adopting safe water initiatives.
• Findings suggest taste aversion is not a significant barrier in remote and Indigenous communities in Panama.
• Supports the potential for effective implementation of chlorination in community water systems.