Bottled water
What happens between the source and the bottle matters.
From the water source to the filling line, microbiological conditions can change throughout bottled water production. Even carefully controlled processes are not immune to unexpected variations, and periodic laboratory testing only provides snapshots of what is happening.
bNovate brings microbiological monitoring online. With automated bacterial cell counts and results in as little as 20 minutes, BactoSense helps bottled water producers detect unusual changes earlier, maintain greater control over their processes and make informed decisions before problems affect production.
Industry use cases
Source water and wellhead monitoring
Even protected groundwater sources can experience microbiological changes due to rainfall, seasonal variations or environmental influences. For mineral and spring water producers, maintaining quality at the source is particularly important. Continuous monitoring helps operators understand normal source behaviour, detect unusual deviations and take action before affected water enters production.
Filling line quality monitoring
The filling process is a critical stage where hygiene must be carefully controlled. Unexpected microbiological changes in water reaching the filling line can affect product quality and lead to costly investigations or production interruptions. Rapid, automated bacterial cell counts provide additional operational insight, helping teams identify abnormal trends and respond sooner.
Storage and transfer systems
Microbiological conditions can change as water moves through storage tanks, pipes and transfer systems. Bacterial growth or unexpected changes may remain unnoticed between scheduled samples. Automated monitoring at critical points helps producers identify deviations, investigate potential causes and maintain better visibility throughout production.
Cleaning and CIP optimisation
Cleaning and sanitising production lines is essential, but unnecessary cleaning cycles consume time, water, chemicals and resources. Monitoring bacterial cell counts before and after cleaning provides additional insight into microbiological conditions, helping operators assess cleaning effectiveness and make more informed decisions about sanitation schedules alongside established hygiene procedures.
BactoSense SMART
Go beyond bacterial counts. Understand what is changing.
In bottled water production, knowing that bacterial levels have changed is only part of the picture. BactoSense SMART goes beyond routine monitoring by combining automated bacterial cell counts with additional measurement data, including forward and side scatter. These advanced analytical capabilities help quality and production teams investigate unusual microbiological trends, better understand process behaviour and make more informed decisions from source to filling.
Deeper microbiological insights. Go beyond cell counts with additional measurement data to explore changes in microbiological profiles.
Advanced data capabilities. Access detailed measurement data, audit trails and user management features to support investigations and traceability.
Better process understanding. Follow microbiological trends across production stages to help identify deviations, evaluate cleaning effectiveness and optimise processes.
PROVEN IN THE FIELD
Protecting mineral water quality at the source
In mineral water production, microbiological quality must be protected from the very beginning. Once water is extracted, unexpected changes at the source can affect the entire bottling process.
In a mineral water bottling application, BactoSense provides automated microbiological monitoring directly at the wellhead. By tracking bacterial cell counts over time, operators can detect unusual deviations earlier, better understand source water behaviour and investigate potential problems before they affect downstream production. This additional visibility supports proactive source management and strengthens microbiological risk monitoring as part of the producer's quality assurance programme.