Water Quality and Food Safety – IV

Water for Food Production

Water is a vital medium in the food industry used for many different purposes. Key resources used by the food-processing industry include the water, raw materials and energy. Traditionally, the food-processing industry has been a large water user. Water is used as an ingredient, an initial and intermediate cleaning source, an efficient transportation conveyor of raw materials, and the principal agent used in sanitizing plant machinery and areas. Although water use will always be a part of the food-processing industry, it has become the principal target for pollution prevention, source reduction practices, because the food industry is now facing increasing pressure to ensure that their company's activities are environmentally sensitive, but there is also increased internal pressure to maintain or increase profitability in the face of fierce competition. The food-processing industry has special concerns about the health and safety of the consumer.

The quality of the water used can be critical with respect to product safety in the market place, the reliability of production processes and the safety of personnel in the workplace. In many cases, treatment is necessary to bring incoming water up to, and maintaining, the required standard and therefore water treatment plants are common in most food factories.

Process Water – Process water is the common name for water that can’t be classified as drinking water, which is used in connection with technical plants and processes in production facilities, where process water is used for heat and power plants, and institutions. The process water sometimes has undergone a more extensive treatment, e.g. softening and demineralization.

Industrial Water Treatment – Probably every manufactured product uses water during some part of the production process. Industrial water use includes water used for such purposes as fabricating, processing, washing, diluting, cooling, or transporting a product, incorporating water into a product, or for sanitation needs within the manufacturing facility. Some industries which use large amounts of water produce commodities such as food and beverage, paper, chemicals, refined petroleum, or primary metals.

Water for Commercial Use – The commercial water-use category is important because, without it, we would not have any steak restaurants, pizza houses, chicken shacks, and other eateries. Along with the eateries, commercial water supplies supply motels, offices, prisons, military institutions, etc.

Boiler Water – Disadvantages in connection with scale formation, corrosion, frequent blow-down, and high consumption of chemicals, where water treatment plants for boiler ensure a long life of boiler as well as a better economy. 

Building Heating Water – The most normal problems in building heating installations are corrosion, leakage, and bacterial growth. These problems are caused by oxygen, salts, and mechanical impurities in the water. Correct water treatment ensures trouble-free operation and optimum economy.

Ingredient Water – Water from waterworks, which is used directly in products often needs additional treatment in order to ensure the products’ optimum quality, conservability, and appearance.

Rinse Water – Rinse water is used in many different fields within the industry for rinsing purposes.

Cooling Water – The need for water treatment is greatest in connection with cooling towers and evaporation condensers. The water treatment prevents hydrated layers, dissolved substances, corrosion, and biological growth. A correct treatment of the cooling water ensures a long life of the plant as well as a better economy.

Humidification Water – Great variations in the humidity damages materials and objects, and dry air influences the personal comfort negatively. This can be prevented by adding extra humidity to the air in the form of water vapour or water atomization.

Types and Sources of Water

Water used in the food industry can come from different sources all of which need quality monitoring before being used in the production process. Hazard identification is defined by CODEX as “identification of biological, chemical and physical agents capable of causing adverse health effects”, where biological hazards refer to pathogenic microorganisms and microbial toxins that could be present in the water and chemical hazards include heavy metals, organic compounds, salts and other chemical contaminants, e.g. fertilizers. Physical hazards derived from incoming water are solids and foreign matter

Drinking Water

There are stipulated measures for private and government owned drinking water suppliers around the globe, such as WHO guidelines, EU directives, i.e. water supply companies in the European Community must supply drinking water, which meets strict quality requirements set forth in Directive 98/93/EC. The use of drinking water guarantees the water meets these strict requirements, but it is expensive.

Ground/Well Water

Ground/well water is the water beneath the surface that can be collected with wells, tunnels, or drainage galleries, or that flows naturally to the earth’s surface via seeps or springs. Some mineral contaminants such as iron, manganese, nickel, arsenic, lead occur naturally in some areas of the earth’s crust. Other possible contaminants are nitrogen (nitrate, ammonia), organic material and pesticides (from agricultural use). Pathogenic microorganisms can contaminate ground/well water via surface pollution and unfavourable weather conditions, i.e. flooding, heavy rainfall. The costs of ground water are relatively low, but the removal of certain contaminants can increase the costs significantly. Ground water taxes can also increase costs.

Bank Filtered Water

Bank filtered water is the ground water under the direct influence of surface water. The extraction wells, located in the vicinity of surface water bodies like rivers or lakes, withdraw groundwater with a certain amount of surface water (after filtration through the soil). The quality of the raw water is comparable to that of ground water. Costs of bank-filtered water are relatively low, but the same restrictions as for ground water apply.

Surface Water

Surface water is the water from rivers, lakes, canals, etc. It is the most abundant of water sources but also the one with the highest risk of contamination from heavy metals, synthetic organic chemicals and microorganisms. The quality of surface water also depends on the weather conditions. Heavy rainfall and flooding can cause contamination with various pathogenic microorganisms. Prolonged hot, dry weather can result in blue green algae blooming. The costs of surface water are relatively low, but the treatment is comprehensive and costly.

Reused Water

Reused water refers to water that is used in or obtained from a food processing operation and is subsequently reused in a food processing operation as reclaimed and/or recycled water. This water requires appropriate treatment in order to fulfill respective quality criteria for its intended purpose.

Precipitation

Precipitation is the generic term for rain, snow (including melt-water), hail, dew and mist. Thus possible contaminants are heavy metals from roof surfaces and tiles and microorganisms from birds and other animals, which is not a reliable source of water where another water source should be available as back up in periods of drought.