Water entering a bottled water facility contains bacteria and particles. Harmful bacteria such as E. coli and Pseudomonas strains are common in natural sources of water. Numerous other non-pathogenic bacteria are also common in water. they can cause illness, off flavor or even haze in the final product if allowed to enter the final packages and grow. The process of water treatment use serval technologies to make the water meet the relevant bottled water Industry standards. Filtration is an important part of the effort to remove bacteria and produce a safe, clean product for consumers.
Microfiltration serves as a complementary backup to other quality safeguards such as ozonationand ultraviolet light. Microfiltration is used as an effective prefiltration for RO. It is a best practice to follow even an RO unit or still with a pre- and final filtration stage just prior to bottling for added protection. Figure 1 is the spring water process, it shows where the filters are used and the roles in the process.