Watchdog urges public to avoid flavoured water
● Investigation into Macb brand under way
Scotland’s food watchdog has urged members of the public not to drink a brand of flavoured water amid reports of consumers complaining of felling unwell.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has advised people to avoid drinking the Macb bottles of water as a precautionary measure.
The drink, fruit flavoured Scottish spring water manufactured in Macduff, Aberdeenshire, is widely stocked in leading supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, and Sainsburys.
But FSS said customers had raised concerns over the smell and the taste of the product, adding that an investigation was under way.
Macb said it had been made aware of a “quality issue” with its strawberry and kiwi flavour drink, but stressed it was not a food safety issue, describing the product in question as “harmless”.
In a statement, FSS said: “Food Standards Scotland is aware of an investigation involving Macb strawberry and kiwi flavoured bottled water following reports by consumers of feeling unwell after drinking it, and is liaising with the food business and relevant enforcement authorities.
“Macb has voluntarily instigated a withdrawal of some of their products from sale. We will continue to work with the business regarding this investigation and further information will be issued as soon as it becomes available.
“In the meantime, as a precautionary measure, we would advise consumers not to drink Macb water.”
In a statement posted on its website, said the “quality issue” related to the 330ml and 1l bottles of the strawberry and kiwi water with a best before end date of August 2018.
However, it said that “whilst the drink may have a strong odour” and be “unpleasant to taste,” it was “not harmful”. Its other bottle sizes and flavours in the range, it stressed, were unaffected.
It added: “We take our responsibility as a quality soft drink manufacturer very seriously and we are removing affected products from sale.
“If you believe you have an affected bottle please email our dedicated customer care team at customercare@cott. co.uk. We are experiencing a high number of calls and emails so please bear with us duringthistime. Weapologise to anyone who has received a bad experience with any of our drinks and once again we would like to reassure you that this is not a food safety issue and the product is harmless.”