bottled water, quality and safety considerations - ilsi...

Bottled water, quality and safety considerations

Prof Lise Korsten Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Institute for

Food Nutrition and Well-Being, University of Pretoria

Lise.korsten@up.ac.za and

& ILSI Water and Sanitation Expert Group

Contents

o Background to bottled water

o Regulating bottled water

o Bottled water: mark scheme

oMicrobiology of bottled water

Global Profile of Bottled Water Context • Globally 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. • Health and Wellness drives bottled water growth.

Global overview • Global bottled water industry expected (2012) = $69 billion

• Over past five yeas an annual growth rate of 10% • Biggest growing markets India / China

• Italians (2000)= 160 lpp; (2005) = 190 l pp

Major Players • Nestle Waters largest seller in the world • Now 4 major groups control 30% of market

• USA 1992 had 700 brands now 2012 > 1000

Worldwatch Institute, 2007

Euromonitor International

Bottled water: Regulation • Bottled water is considered a “food”

• Flavoured water falls outside this scope – now soft drink (flavoured beverage).

• Bottled water not measured against tap water standards,

• But against standards drafted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission with drinking water guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3rd edition).

• Adoption of term “packaged water” instead of “bottled water”

Bottle Water: Microbial standards

SA case study; Regulated by DoH

Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act no 54 of 1972,

Regulations governing microbiological standards for foodstuffs

and related matters No 692 of 1997

• Escherichia coli = 0/250ml

• Non-faecal coliforms = 0/250ml

• Faecal streptococci = 0/250ml

• Clostridium perfringens = 0/250ml

• Pseudomonas aeruginosa = 0/250ml

• Total viable count = <100/ml after 72hrs at 20o – 22oC

or <20/ml after 24hrs at 37oC when sampled within 12

hours of bottling

Regulation: EU Bottled water Micro S.I. 79/2005 - European Communities (Natural Mineral Waters, Spring Waters and

Other Waters in Bottles Or Containers) Regulations 2005.

• Direct bottling at source

• No disinfection to remove microbes allowed

• Std: E. coli/ coliforms/ P. aeruginosa faecal

streptococci = 0 in 250ml

• Sulfate-reducing endospore-forming anearobes (i.e.

Clostridium perfringes - ubiquitous in aquatic

sediments) = 0 in 50ml

Bottled water categories

Based on Codex - bottled water legislation defines three classes of water:

• In SA the following categories has been adopted:

o “Natural water” - sourced from an underground aquifer and packaged at source.

• No treatment of the water is allowed, except for decantation or filtration to separate the water from unstable constituents and the addition or removal of carbon dioxide.

• Natural mineral water and natural spring water fall into this class.

Bottled water category 2 “Waters defined by origin” = Bottled water

originating from an underground or surface water

system, which flows naturally from its source, e.g.

artesian water including rain, glacier, mist, and

spring water.

As a general rule, this water shall be subjected to various

treatments, provided that the treatments and the

processes used to achieved them do not alter or

compromise the chemical, radiological and microbiological safety of the water.

Bottled water category 3 “Prepared water” – that includes municipal, surface or

ground water that has been purified by treatments such as reverse osmosis that change the chemical composition of the water.

In the case of municipal water, for instance, previously added chemicals such as fluoride and impurities are removed and minerals are added.

Other components can be added to deliver a balanced mineral composition and as such it results in prepared water that complies with all the provisions under the general requirements for bottled waters.

Bottled water mark scheme

• SABS Mark scheme for bottled water is a voluntary mark scheme that bottlers can be “certified to compliance” once the plant has been inspected and they comply with the mark scheme.

• SA national standards: – SANS 1657:2007: Bottled water of

subterranean origin for treatment, testing, bottling, packaging and labelling.

– SANS 1862: 2003: Packaged water other than natural mineral water

SANBWA 10

Drinking Water associated outbreaks

• CDC reported 780 disease outbreaks associated with

the consumption of contaminated drinking waters

(1971 to 2006), affected 577,094 persons

• Drinking water-related illness in the USA has been

estimated at 19 million/year

• Spain (1999–2006) - 413 outbreaks recorded that

involved 23,642 cases

• Milwaukee (USA) Cryptosporidium outbreak affected >

400,000 people in 1993

Bottle water associated outbreaks

Cholera

• Bottled water in Portugal (1974) o Hospitlized cases 2467 + 48 deaths

o Linked to bottling source + spa (Vibrio cholera)

o Limestone aquifer contaminated by broken sewers from nearby village

• Mariannes Island 1994 due to in plant contamination

Other bottled water examples:

• Typhoid fever and travellers outbreak 993

• Fungal spoilage of mineral water Argentina

(Hunter, 1990)

Cholera in drinking water: 52 countries (90% Africa) Case study in SA 2001: 106 389 cholera cases and 229 lives lost

Microbiology of bottled water

• Microorganisms come from source

• Spring water contains autochtonous* organisms.

• *“Indigenous” – filling the ecological niches.

• Potential pathogens indicate contamination at source or during

bottling process.

• Examples: Pseudomonads, Acinetobacter, Achromobacter,

Flavobacterium.

• Opportunistic pseudomonads may be of concern.

• Burkholderia cepacia & Stenotrophomonas maltophilia grow on

minute quantities of organic matter.

Pseudomonas Prevalence

• Most often isolated from water bodies

• Common in groundwater

• Most NB Mineral water microflora

o 80% of unidentified isolates (1350 stains) identified as new spp

(i.e. RFLP) (Loy et al., 2005)

o Fluorescent Pseudomonas (normal soil + subsurface

environments)

o Non-fluorescent Pseudomonas

Pseudomonas Risk?

• Not associated with public health issues

• P. aeruginosa (clinical relevant strains not normal

component of natural mineral water)

o Considered contaminant during bottling

o Known resistance to chemical disinfectants

o Antibiotic resistance concern (water & clinical strains(2 studies

from bottled water)

o Impact on immunocompromised people?

Aeromonas • General known as an Autochthonous microbe

in water

• Some spp. associated with diarrhoea

• Reported examples: o A. fluvialis, A. rivuli - common in fresh water

o A. tecta - tap water

• New clinical spp: o A. tecta, A. taiwanensis, A. saranelli, A. aquariorum

o Cause extra intestinal infections

• NB Biofilm development indicator

• Persistence in water system related to organic

content

Aeromonas Bottled water:

• A. hydrophila - isolated in 4/6 studies

• Persistence – contradictory data:

o 8d persistence then cell death (Hunter, 1990)

o 70 d persistence (Figueras & Borrogo, 2010)

• Normal bottle water microbes inhibit Aeromonas

Regulation example Netherlands (Figueras & Borrogo, 2010)

o Finished water max. std: 20 CFU/100mL

o Drinking water 200 CFU/100mL

Mycobacteria • Drinking water supply microbe

• Biofilm NB bacterium

• Emerging pathogen of increasing importance

• Aetiological agents of waterborne diseases

• M. tuberculosis, M. bovis

Other Microbes • Caulobacter – scavengers in low nutrient environments

o Groundwater expected as dominant sp given oligotrophic conditions

o Dominant in one case study of bottled and source (spring) water

• As prevalent as Pseudomonas o Acinetobacter (common inhabitants of water) hospital outbreaks

o Alaligenes

• Sometimes dominant – shallow aquifers o Cytophage, Flavobacterium, Flexibacter

• Burkholderia - source water

• Other Gram - : Comamonas, Ralstonia etc

• Groundwater - Bacillus

• Other Gram +: Staphylococcus, Micrococcus o Isolated at bottling point

o Linked with manual bottling

Challenges for the bottle water sector

• Cost: bottle vs soft drinks vs tap water o Bottled water, costs up to 1,900 times more than tap water (2011, Bottle

Water Scorecard),

• Continued industry growth: population explosion,

water quality & quantity challenges, global warming

impact.

• Environmental impact: Plastic bottles and wastage

• Carbon footprint: Energy required to transport bottled

water from source, global distribution, exports.

• Consumer abuse: environmental exposure, storage

conditions, sell by date

1 800 Children

Acknowledgements:

ILSI Water and Sanitation Expert Group and ILSI (SA)

References • Loy, A., Beisker, W & Meier, H., 2005. Diversity of

Bacteria growing in natural mineral water after

bottling. Applied and Environmental Microbiology,

3624-3632.

• Leclerc, H & Moreau, A. 2002. Microbiological safety

of natural mineral water. FEMS Micro Reviews. 26:

207-222.

• Hunter, P.R., 1993. The Microbiology of bottled

mineral water. J Appl. Bact. 74: 345-352.