The Food Standards Agency is advising people to be aware of the fraudulent sale of Zam Zam water that may pose a food safety risk.

It follows cases where fake religious water laced with arsenic was found to be on sale in the UK.

Trading Standards bosses discovered fraudulent Zam Zam water had been on sale at one un-named shop in Blackburn.

Blackburn with Darwen Council Trading Standards chiefs believe the arrival of Ramadan, Islam's holy month, has led to shops selling the fake water in the borough.

Arsenic can remain in the water for up to five years and can play a part in bringing on cancer in people who come into contact with it.

The shopkeeper who admitted selling it has now stopped after a visit from Trading Standards bosses.

And a brand of Zam Zam formally sampled by the London Borough of Westminster was also found to contain almost three times the permitted level of arsenic.

Other brands of Zam Zam water are thought to be on sale in the UK and could be similarly contaminated.

As genuine Zam Zam water cannot be legally exported from Saudi Arabia for commercial sale, any product found in the shops would have an uncertain provenance and possible safety risk.

The FSA is therefore advising people not to buy or drink commercially available brands of Zam Zam water and to inform their Local Authority Environmental Health or Trading Standards Department if they come across Zam Zam water on sale. The chair of the Muslim Council of

Britains Health and Medical Committee, Dr Shuja Shafi, said, "Muslims in Britain appreciate the efforts of the FSA in this investigation and the MCB will take the necessary steps to alert the community of the hazard".

The Well of Zam Zam is a well located in Mecca, near the Holy Ka'bah and according to Islamic tradition, the well was shown to Hagar, wife of Abraham, when she was in search of water to feed Ishmael.

The well is said to be the source of a life-giving water that can satisfy both hunger and thirst, and cure illness.

Each year, during the

Pilgrimage, millions of people fill up their large water canisters through special taps and bring it back home to distribute among relatives and friends.