A one year fungal survey of a water bottling plant was conducted in order to
evaluate the incidence and fluctuations of the biota. The dominant fungal genera
in order of highest numbers were Penicillium, Cladosporium and Trichoderma
followed by Aspergillus, Paecilomyces, and others. As expected, highest number of
isolates collected were during the summer months, particularly May and June.
Indeed during these two months there were more fungi present in the water after
it had passed through the filtration system (0.4μm filter), indicating that during
those times of the year when fungal contamination is high, filters should be
changed on a more regular basis. In order to assess whether contamination was
single or multi-loci, molecular methods based on PCR were used. Overall fungal
contamination arose from multiple sources. Some fungal strains were very “alike”
and were detected during different sampling times, indicating that some strains
were endemic to the plant. There was little evidence to suggest that fungi
detected in the source water passed through to other parts of the plant. However,
there was evidence that fungal strains isolated from the water filter were detected
elsewhere in the factory, confirming the need to change filters more regularly
during periods of high fungal contamination. In order to improve quality control a
HACCP programme was implemented and Best Practice Guidelines introduced.Control of Mycological Contaminations in Bottled Water (COMBOW) -
CRAFT/QLK1-2002-70843 contract
