I don't see anyone testing the water for "quality"..........this facility received a minor on the last audit because there wasn't a quality test.........
11.5.4.1 Water shall comply with local, national or internationally recognized potable water microbiological and quality standards for use......
The water gets tested monthly for potablility, but QUALITY??????? as far as I can tell, there are not any standards for QUALITY...thoughts? This makes sense if your finished good is bottle water........otherwise potability should be king
Hi Scampi,
Terminologies in use, eg "potable", "quality", are as usual apt to be confusing. I opine you were interpreting "quality" as "non-safety related factors". This seems logical as per SQF glossary.
SQF Glossary
Potable - Water that is safe to drink.
Potable water means water that meets the standards for drinking purposes of the State or local authority having jurisdiction, or water that meets the quality standards prescribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR part 141).
https://www.osha.gov...ARDS&p_id=10624
afaik the "primary" means items listed here -
https://www.epa.gov/...ter-regulations
Some of the items listed in primary are clearly not directly safety-related, eg turbidity, coliforms.
there is also a collection of secondary EPA factors (presumably non-safety related) here -
https://www.epa.gov/...sance-chemicals
I have little doubt that the Philippines will have their own legislatory requirements. Occasionally customer destination requirements may also act as a secondary standard.
the WHO/EC Drinking Water Standards for potability also include safety/non-safety factors (i think).
The US state legalities IIRC also relate to whether water is "well"-sourced or not.