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