Woolworths customers complain about strange odour in bottled water - as company launches an urgent investigation

Woolworths shoppers have complained about a strange taste and odour coming from bottles of water purchased at their local supermarket. 

There have been nine complaints about 600ml bottles of Pureau Water as of Monday, which were purchased from stores in Melbourne in the last two weeks.

The complaints all stemmed from water from batch #23926 with 12 pallets delivered from Pureaus Sydney factory to Woolworths Dandenong on August 29. 

Pureau said the odour was caused by repair work carried out on a drainage pipe located under the production line where the bottles are filled with water.

A Pureau spokesperson said the line had been broken some metres underground and there was a smell coming from the drain.   

These repairs were carried out as soon as the issue was identified, however the smell was evident for some time following the rectification work, they told 7News. 

We believe that this smell may have created the odour issues evident in some of the bottles from this days production run.

A change in our procedures for start-up of the bottle line has been instigated while the odour is evident, which includes where necessary a drain flush and air movement via fans.

There have been nine complaints made about 600ml bottles of Pureau (pictured) due to an odour issue. A company spokesperson said the odour may have come from a broken pipe

We hope that the work has resolved the issue and the smell resolves itself short term.

Pureau added that every batch is always independently tested by the accredited lab ALS - and the testing carried out on the odour batch had been checked and approved for food safety.

Because there was no contamination results, the company believes the affected batch was an odour issue only.

Based on the micro testing we believe that it is an odour issue only as the test results would show if the water itself was in any way contaminated with organic or inorganics, the spokesperson said. 

Pureaus 600ml water bottles are manufactured at the same factory as the companys 2L, 5L and 10L bottles - which are yet to receive any complaints. 

The bottles had been delivered from Pureaus Sydney factory to Woolworths Dandenong (pictured stock photo of a Woolworths store)

Every Woolworths shopper who alerted the company will receive a full refund and have received a sincere apology, Pureau said.

The water company is conducting further tests for peace of mind and Daily Mail Australia understands Pureau is conducting a voluntary withdrawal of the affected batch from retailers even though it it is safe to consume.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Pureau for comment. 

Woolworths were also contacted in relation to the incident but said Pureau could offer more specific information about their product.