Water has a fundamental role in the safety of food production, especially when it comes to the sanitisation of both raw materials, equipment, and even on-site personnel. The water used in cleaning and sanitising should be both potable and pathogen free. An essential first step is to flush certain raw materials (typically those that have been grown in soil) with pure water to remove any visible soil or other visible contaminants. The use of pure water ensures product quality and safety later in the production process.
Water is also used in the sanitation of equipment, either alone or alongside a chemical agent for effective sanitation. The effectiveness of a detergent is determined by the various impurities in water; unfiltered water is not only of poor microbiological quality, but the various elements present can reduce the service life of the equipment it is being used to clean. This often comes down to the hardness of the water, which can cause the formation of film, scale, or precipitates on the surface of equipment. It is thus important to use softened water (typically through a reverse osmosis system) for effective and efficient sanitation.
