Most of the water bottling factories in Jeddah are in substandard conditions and the methods used to treat water are not in compliance with the Kingdom's health codes, said Saeed Bajubair, a member of a committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry that oversees water factories. Bajubair said 80 percent of water bottling factories sell water taken from the government's network of desalinated sea water without treating it. To combat the problem and enforce greater oversight, Bajubair said all factories should be affiliated with the Saudi Food and Drugs Authority (SFDA) instead of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. “Earlier a decision was taken for handing over the responsibility of the water factories to the SFDA but the Jeddah Mayoralty has not acted on the decision so far,” he said. Bajubair said he held the Jeddah Mayoralty accountable for its failure to tighten control over the factories and said officials tasked with overseeing the factories had been neglecting their duties because of their knowledge that the SFDA will take over the responsibility soon. Bashir Abu Najam, Director General of the Licenses and Commercial Control at Jeddah Governorate said the SFDA has not officially taken charge of the water factories because its branch in Jeddah is still under construction. Najam also said the number of inspectors at the Jeddah Mayoralty are insufficient to effectively supervise all of the city's factories. Meanwhile, an official source at the SFDA said the authority's role is only limited to examining the Bromide levels in treated water and said officials are currently counting the number of water bottling factories in Jeddah.
