Incidencia de microorganismos mesófilos en la producción del agua de bebida envasada

Abstract

With the purpose, of determining the likely incidence of mesophilic microorganisms on bottled drinking-water (BDW), the most relevant factors involved in the water production were analyzed. In order to determine the quality, water was stored in several different containers (polycarbonate, glass, high-density polyethylene (HDP), low-density polyethylene (LDP), and polyethylene-coextruded polypropilene (PCP) containers), and subsequently total counts were analysed for mesophilic microorganisms and the most likely number for total coliforms and Pseudomona aeruginosa. The best results were achieved by using glass-containers. Subsequently the treatment of water (chlorination-ozonisation) was compared by using two types of containers (LDP and PCP) so as to determine which material and treatment best kept best the organoleptic and physicochemical features, as well as causing the lowest incidence of mesophilic microorganism during the span of product storage. The most adequate container turned out to be that made from 2.5 gauge PCP with 0.6 ppm chlorine treatment It was also concluded that bacterial growth was more an additional by-product of storage and typeof container since our sampling of the production methods showed that at al1 times the water was drinkable. Lastly, a tasting panel was held where 80% of the tasters selected chose the PCP.