A bulletin for the Australian Food Industry September 1996
Contents: Salmonella: more unusual incidents | Ciguatera poisoning | Phthalates in foods | Ozone treatment of mineral water | Effective sanitation programs | Thermal processing of foods | Transfer of allergens in genetic manipulation of foods | National food hygiene standards
Ozone treatment of mineral water
In the Australian Food Standards Code, mineral water is defined as 'ground water obtained from subterranean water-bearing strata that, in its natural state, contains soluble matter.' It is used synonymously with the term 'spring water'.
The Code permits various treatments of mineral water, including ultraviolet sterilisation, pasteurisation and 'ozone treatment'.
These permissions have always distinguished product labelled spring water in Australia from products so labelled and which are imported from European countries where no such treatments are permitted. Spring water in the European Union is defined as
'...water which is drinkable in its natural state, is bottled at the spring ...in so far as it has not received any other treatment, apart from filtration, decantation and aeration, and its labelling clearly distinguishes it from natural mineral water.'
The European Council of Ministers has now adopted a proposal which permits the treatment of natural mineral water, but not spring water, with ozone provided that treatment information is carried on the label. The use of ozone is now permitted '...to separate unstable elements from natural mineral waters which will ensure that the composition of the water as regards its essential ingredients is not affected.' The unstable elements referred to include iron, manganese and sulphur compounds.
An important side effect of this new European permission for mineral waters will be the disinfectant capacity of ozone treatment which in many ways is comparable to that of chlorine.
Before the Council vote, the European Union's Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) handed down an opinion on the use of ozone to treat natural mineral waters. The opinion recognized that ozone treatment may lead to the formation of undesirable by-products and recommended that producers should comply with several conditions to minimise side reactions. The SCF concluded that residual ozone and the concentration of undesirable by-products (bromate and bromoform) should be undetectable by the best available analytical methodology.
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