Monitoring microbiological quality of bottled water as suggested by HACCP methodology Emmanuel N. Kokkinakis a,b, * , Georgios A. Fragkiadakis a , Aikaterini N. Kokkinaki b a Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Technological Education Institute (T.E.I) of Crete, I. Kondylaki 46 Street, 723 00 Siteia, Greece b Department of Commerce and Advertising, Technological Education Institute (T.E.I) of Crete, K. Palama and I. Kakridi Street, 722 00 Ierapetra, Greece Received 26 February 2007; received in revised form 23 September 2007; accepted 2 October 2007 Abstract A company, which produces non-carbonated water in 18.9 l bottles, sold to supermarkets through out Crete, Greece, was evaluated. Sampling was carried out in the bottling plant, and at supermarkets where bottled water was stored for 1, 2, and 4 months. In total, 300 samples from final product, 240 samples from raw or filtered water, and 60 samples of empty bottles were analyzed. The results of these analyses indicated the need to improve Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems, in order to continuously monitor the water supply source in bottling plants, and to fully implement the correct storage conditions, hygiene procedures, and customer training at supermarkets. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Bottled water; Microbial monitoring; Heterotrophic plate count; HACCP 1. Introduction Bottled water consumption has significantly increased during the last decade (Venieri, Vantarakis, Komninou, & Papapetropoulou, 2006; Warburton, 2000), with an annual growth rate of 25% in North America (Bharath et al., 2003). The European Federation of Bottled Water (EFBW, 2006) estimates the consumption of bottled water in the European Union during 2003 as 45,000 ml (exclud- ing bottles > 10 l) and the consumption in Greece as 59 l per capita. The water-sales worldwide exceed a value of 5 billion euros (Rosenberg, 2003). Non-carbonated bottled water has become more popular than carbonated, being a substitute for tap water in many homes (Armas & Suther- land, 1999). A number of reasons has been reported: con- sumer awareness about increasing water pollution; deficiencies in municipal water supply in terms of odor, taste, fluoride, chlorine (Papapetropoulou, Tsintzou, & Vantarakis, 1997; Tamagnini & Gonzalez, 1997), as well as successful marketing strategies of the bottling companies (Misund, Frengstad, Siewers, & Reimann, 1999). Microbial surveys carried out worldwide indicated vari- ous problems with bottled water such as: high Heterotro- phic Plate Count (HPC) levels (Warburton, Peterkin, Weiss, & Johnston, 1986; Warburton, Dodds, Burke, John- ston, & Laffey, 1992; Warburton, 2000); Vibrio cholerae presence and infections (Blake, Rosenberg, Florencia, Costa, & Gangarosa, 1977; Kramer, Herwaldt, Craun, Calderon, & Juranek, 1996); fungal spoilage (Carbal & Fernandez-Pinto, 2002); presence of resistant to antibiotics Pseudomonas species (Guillot & Leclerc, 1993; Hernandez- Duquino & Rosenberg, 1987; Mavridou, 1992); Staphylo- coccus aureus presence (Leclerc, Mossel, & Savage, 1985); Aeromonas hydrophila presence (Manaia, Nunes, Morais, & Da Costa, 1990), Pseudomonas aeruginosa presence 0956-7135/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2007.10.001 * Corresponding author. Address: Department of Nutrition and Die- tetics, Technological Education Institute (T.E.I) of Crete, I. Kondylaki 46 Street, 723 00 Siteia, Greece. Tel.: +30 2843 029490; fax: +30 2843 026683. E-mail address: mkokkinakis@seyp.teicrete.gr (E.N. Kokkinakis). www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Food Control 19 (2008) 957–961