Health Minister to LBCI: Tannourine water case technical, ministry explores options to ensure safety

Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine confirmed that the Tannourine Water Company case is purely technical but has taken on a political dimension in the media.

In an exclusive interview with LBCI, he explained that the Ministry’s epidemiological surveillance team received a report indicating contamination in the water.

He noted the social media uproar surrounding Tannourine water, which prompted the ministry to take action.

“Samples were taken from water available on the Lebanese market and sent to a ministry-approved laboratory, and samples were also taken from the plant, though not from the entire production line. One of the samples confirmed the presence of contamination,” he said.

Nassereddine announced that the results showed contamination in the water.

He said the ministry faced two options: either shut down the company and take measures against it without expanding the investigation, or take a precautionary measure by temporarily stopping the company from bottling water while expanding the investigation, taking new samples, and sending them to other laboratories.

“If the other results are negative, meaning the bacteria is not detected, the measures against the company will be lifted and operations can resume,” he said.

He added: “If contamination is confirmed, we will resolve the problem technically with the company.”