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Have you ever wondered what type of water is being used by the food and beverage industry? Needless to say, what they have to use is the purest of water for a lot more reasons than you might think.Â
Have you ever questioned yourself just how significant clean water is to the food and beverage industry? You might come to think that it’s important for sanitation and meeting standards and that is correct.
However, the need for clean water goes way beyond sanitation and compliance with regulations. Water treatment is so crucial that without it, the food and beverage industry wouldn’t have as much success with providing convenient and quality products.
Water Treatment in the Food and Beverage Industry
There are several ways on how water is treated and they would either use chemical or non-chemical technologies. The use of chlorine for example is a means of using chemicals. It’s one of the most prevalent means of disinfecting water but does have its drawbacks.Â
Chlorinated water when pumped back to a natural body of water can be toxic to the environment. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to treat water without having to use such chemicals.
Here are but some of them:
- Reverse Osmosis
- Ion Exchange
- Carbon Filtration
- UV Disinfection
The Importance of Water Treatment in the Food and Beverage Industry
Water is crucial in the food and beverage industry as it’s used in many of its processes. This also means that food and beverage being processed are constantly being exposed to water. Without treated water, can you even imagine the type of quality the food and beverage industry can produce?
Clean water is so important that it directly impacts the quality of the products. Every aspect of a product is affected by its shelf life, taste, the safety of its consumption, and everything in between.Â
With the very significant role that water plays in the food and beverage industry, shortage or crisis of water can immediately cause a halt in production. This is where water treatment plays an additional role to ensure a steady stream of clean water despite any water shortage.
To give you a better idea, here’s how different types of water treatment works:
Reverse Osmosis – A semipermeable membrane is used to filter out ions and other impurities. The membrane ensures no particles of certain sizes get through.
Ion Exchange – this is a straightforward process and as the name suggests, ions from contaminants are replaced with non-harmful substances of the same electrical charge.Â
Carbon Filtration – this process makes use of layers of activated carbon to remove and filter out impurities through adsorption.Â
UV Disinfection – this works by inactivating the capability of bacterias, viruses, and protozoans to infect and reproduce by exposing them to UV light.
As you can see, there are many ways and many other more ways of how water treatment is done.Â
Here’s why water treatment is important in the food and beverage industry:
Clean and Safe Food and Drinks
The food and beverage industry is very meticulous and they should be because their products can affect health. Any unsafe food or drink can cause mild to serious diseases, even death.Â
To ensure satisfaction as well as the safety of consumers, water treatment is done and the clean water is then used to manufacture or produce uncontaminated food and drinks. Clean water is used in every stage where the water is required from the manufacturing, cleaning, and processing of the food and beverages.Â
Best Quality
To produce food and beverage of the highest quality, clean, and disinfected water is needed. When impure water is used, it can affect the taste and shelf life of the products. Water treatment ensures that all harmful contaminants are filtered out and removed.Â
Cleaning and Sterilization of Equipment
Treated water is also used for the cleaning and sterilization of all equipment. Even when food and beverage are processed with treated water, using unsterilized equipment will cancel out the purpose of using treated water if the equipment used is not cleaned with it as well.
Reduced or No Downtime
Drought can cause a shortage of water and without any other way to get clean water, the manufacturing and processing of products will come to a stop. A sudden halt in production even for a few days can already be a huge loss for businesses in the food and beverage industry.
A company with its water treatment facility may not be affected by water shortage as they can recycle their water. By having their water treatment facility, there won’t be any interruptions in their operations.
Sustainability and Reduced Cost
Water treatment isn’t just plainly cleaning water from a traditional supply but also includes the processing of used water. This means that by recycling used water, there can be lowered cost and reduced water wastage.Â
This doesn’t just help a company save more in water costs but it’s also good for the environment as much water is saved and recycled.Â
Meeting Standards
The food and beverage industry needs to meet a lot of standards as their products are for consumption. Strict guidelines stated by the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Association ensures that disinfected and treated water are to be used when manufacturing and processing food and beverage.
Moreover, there’s also the HACCP (Hazard Analysis at Critical Control Points), CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Process), HASSOP (Hygiene Standard Sanitation Operating Procedure), and other bodies that further ensures that businesses meet sanitation and cleanliness standards.
If businesses fail to meet these standards, they are not allowed to operate. Water treatment is essential in the food and beverage industry. It is a requirement and not just something optional.
Without water treatment in the food and beverage industry, it’s almost even impossible to imagine how they can manufacture and produce quality and safe products for consumption. Water treatment is what allows them to operate and continue to produce healthy and delicious products that we can conveniently enjoy.Â
You can bring this level of water sanitation in your home by having your process of water treatment. You can even start small with quality water filters. Water is used so much at home and it can help give you peace of mind knowing that the water you use and drink is free of any impurities.Â
Especially now with the pandemic, you can never go wrong by investing in a water filter. Did you learn anything new about the importance of water treatment in the food and beverage industry from this article? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Share this article with your friends and family so they may also know just how important clean water is not just to the food and beverage industry but also in your own home.Â
