Frontline Food Consultants and Engineers provide expert consultancy solutions for the manufacturing of packed drinking water which is packed in bottles and cans in addition to the issue of ensuring the drinking water is pure safe for human consumption and meets the current legal requirement. Water Treatment and Purification Services include Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, UV Treatment, Minerals Addition, and many other processes that make your product free from all bacteria and safe. An important point here is to get the absolute top quality water that at the same time is as mineralized as it has to be in order to be extremely healthy and tasty.

Our Sourcing and Sustainability Consulting ensures that your water sourcing is optimal in regard to the standards customers have recently begun to include the environment. We also have Regulatory Compliance Consulting to help us or help you package water that is safe for drinking as per the country and international specifications. In addition, our Packaging Solutions are intended to be environmentally friendly and lightweight since they are designed to preserve water’s purity and freshness.

What is Packaged Drinking Water?

According to the definition Packaged Drinking Water is potable water that has been purified and put in sealed, nonrefillable containers such as bottles or cans for consumption. Water with such type has to go through a rigorous process of purifiers and testing and purification to make it safe for human consumption. The main activities in the manufacturing of packaged drinking water are as follows; procurement, treatment and processing, packaging, and packaging. Water sources are classified into two; first is the natural water sources like springs, wells, or municipal water sources that is followed by purification processes by which impurities, chemicals, and bacteria are removed from the water supply.

Packaged drinking water requires a few machines like Water purification equipment, Reverse Osmosis equipment UV sterilization equipment to make the drinking water free from any impurities including microbes. Bottling kits include the activities of putting items in bottles, cans, or bags and then closing to reduce interaction with other things. Self-containment may be used where bottles produced from blow molding machines are produced in-house so as to avoid charges on transportation and packaging. There are some other types of labeling machines that ensure that each of packet has been labeled correctly together with providing information to the consumers. QC norms continue to operate to ensure the quality of water at every production process and ensure that the water is safe for use.

Types of Packaged Drinking Water:

  • Mineral Water: This is naturally sourced water that contains some useful minerals, it is usually taken directly in a bottle from a natural spring.
  • Purified Water: Water that has been treated in some capacity; for example, it has been through several filters and thus cleaned.
  • Distilled Water: Water that is boiled and evaporated, and then condensed to get demineralized water.
  • Spring Water: From the source to the bottle it goes through and is not depleted of minerals in any way.
  • Flavored Water: Mineral water that has been purified for taste and with some natural or artificial tastes added to it.

Production Process

  1. Water Sourcing and Collection
  • Source Identification: Raw materials used I.E water that must be either from natural springs bore wells or municipal supplies. The water, utilized prior to, during and post-production line, requires assessment of its mineral content, microbial content and chemical quality.
  • Collection: It is normally transported to the production plant via pipe or stainless steel pipe in food grade to avoid contact with contaminated water.
  1. Water Purification
  • Filtration: This eliminates sediments, chlorine, organic matter and microorganisms through the use of sand filters, activated carbon filters and microfiltration.
  • Reverse Osmosis (RO): At other places, the water is ‘reprocessed’ through reverse osmosis where dissolved salts, some heavy metals and bacteria are separated through a foul-proof membrane.
  • UV Sterilization: In another process, the water is treated separately by taking the liquid with light in ultraviolet so that any bacteria, viruses or any microbes that was not eliminated before is got out of the water.
  • Ozonation: Last in the concluding step, the ozonized gas is absorbed in water, so that it may be conserved and packed for use. The reason why ozonation is utilized in preference to chlorine is that it does not get on the surface as to give a taste.
  1. Mineralization (Optional) 
  • Mineral Addition: As for the mineral water the minerals including calcium, magnesium, and potassium among others are added back into the water so that the water should have a pleasant taste as well as to be fit for human consumption. This process is regulated to ensure that the signaled minerals are to the set degree or not.
  1. Bottling and Packaging
  • Bottle Manufacturing: Containers that can be used include plastic or glass (PET) bottles that can be manufactured internally or one can purchase them. PET bottles are made with the help of a blow molding machine with respect to glass bottles these may be purchased from a manufacturer or may be produced if the required quantity is large.
  • Filling and Sealing: The purified water is then got by means of bottle-filling equipment into sterilized bottles. The containers used here are bottles that are fitted with tamper-proof caps in a bid to increase the security of the product.
  • Labeling and Date Coding: While some of the varieties of the fruit are still intact, some are processed and packed in big bottles with some requisite information like batch number, expiry date and some other manufacturing details labeled on each of the bottles. It is also helpful in tracking the product and also helps to gain control over the inventory at the production date.
  1. Quality Control
  • Testing: Analytical control of packaged drinking water is done now once in a while on some issues like microbial load and chemical and mineral content. Some of the water samples are taken at some of the production processes to test if the water being used is up to standard.
  • Hygiene and Sanitation: The majority of the production is done aseptically which gives less opportunity to contamination to occur. To enhance safe operation, the equipment and containers used are regularly cleaned and sterilized.

The technology of Packaging Material for Packaged Drinking Water

  1. PET Bottles
  • Objective: Provide safe, easy-to-use and sustainable packaging material for drinking water.
  • Materials: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most used material used in bottled water and water in general due to the material’s durability, lightweight and can be recycled.
  • Benefits: PET bottles are affordable and durable, and can easily be moved from one place to another. They also create an impression of clear glass which makes consumers see the product inside.
  1. Glass Bottles
  • Objective: These are used for the packing of mineral or flavored water for performance-specific product packaging.
  • Materials: This has a nice appeal on the eye, and with top quality glass maintains the taste of the water.
  • Benefits: Glass is an oxygen and water vapor nonabsorbing material and this way water does not change its taste and quality. It is also fully recyclable – making it an excellent choice for consumers who want to make environmentally friendly choices.
  1. Sustainable Packaging Materials for Environment
  • Objective: Reduce the impact on the environment, where physical effects cannot be completely avoided while manufacturing products of good quality.
  • Materials: Paper material bags/packs or biodegradable bottles and packs, eco-sustainable protective bags, and others.
  • Benefits: All these materials provide an environmentally-friendly solution to plastic bottles and its acceptability will be most appealing to its target market, the environmentally sensitive consumers who would like a shift away from plastics.