5 replies to this topic

[Scampi]

Hellllo, I know I fought an SQF auditor in the past re: heavy metal testing on a municipal water source.......am I missing something in the code or do we simply have to test for potability and not "quality". 11.5.3.1 Water shall comply with local, national, or internationally recognized potable water microbiological and quality standards, as required when used for Heavy metal testing is very expensive and I'd like to remove this from our current program  and truth be told-water with levels of lead or cadmium etc would never get past the municipal testing AND this building is only 20 years old so no old lead pipes or metal solder. Thoughts???

[Spidey]

My facility only tests for coliforms and potability.  We also receive and review the city's Annual Water Quality Report which includes heavy metals.  This has not been a problem in the two SQF audits we have been through.

 

Our building is only 15 years old.

Edited by Spidey, 18 February 2021 - 09:29 PM.

[TaraMcKinzie]

My facility only tests for coliforms and potability.  We also receive and review the city's Annual Water Quality Report which includes heavy metals.  This has not been a problem in the two SQF audits we have been through.

 

Our building is only 15 years old.

This has worked for me as well.  Make sure it's in your SOP and have the city report handy for the auditor.

[SQFconsultant]

We advise our clients to have at least 2 independent wq tests a year none of which include a hm section... we have never had an auditor raise an issue.

[Charles.C]

Hellllo, I know I fought an SQF auditor in the past re: heavy metal testing on a municipal water source.......am I missing something in the code or do we simply have to test for potability and not "quality". 11.5.3.1 Water shall comply with local, national, or internationally recognized potable water microbiological and quality standards, as required when used for Heavy metal testing is very expensive and I'd like to remove this from our current program  and truth be told-water with levels of lead or cadmium etc would never get past the municipal testing AND this building is only 20 years old so no old lead pipes or metal solder. Thoughts???

 

For Ver 9, SQF (see website resouces/changes) have added "quality" to clause 11.5.3.1 however the (so far?) corresponding  dwl Guidance is for ver. 8.1. Nonetheless the latter already contained a strangely  ambiguous "quality" comment (see below).

 

From ver.9 -

 

 

11.5.3.1    Water shall comply with local, national, or internationally recognized potable water microbiological and quality standards, as required when used for:......

 

 

From the  8.1 Guidance -

The supplier must be aware of the national and/or international potable water standards and any microbiological or chemical water standards imposed by customers.  Analysis (refer to 11.5.6) must be conducted to ensure water continues to meet the required standard.

The rate at which water is tested should, ideally, be based on risk, owing to the potential for seasonal variations in the supply, but at minimum, water should be tested at least annually for potability and any additional quality or safety attribute.

 

Last 7 words above are sort of meaningless as stated.

 

I was unable to find any specific reference to "heavy metals" in Guidance material.

 

However IMO, specification-wise, "potability" of Process water should include, minimally, heavy metals. EU have an encyclopedical chemical list but IM(BRC)EX only a short selection from this list is expected, including heavy metals.

 

So Is there a Canadian Standard for Potability of Process water? And "Quality" ?

 

(IIRC, there is a USFDA-defined standard for bottled water which includes heavy metals).

[Scampi]

Yes Glenn, there is a standard. However, our water coming into the building is already tested as per regulations for heavy metals  (ours if from the great lakes)

 

I asked a co-worker here and it may be a Costco requirement.......jeesh.  Makes perfect sense to test for it if you have a really old building with lead pipes.........but in the commodity I'm working in now.....you don't (as in can't) eat the portion that would be in contact with water (for less than 30 seconds total)

 

Ambiguous testing without logic drives me nuts

 

Thanks all, my thinking was correct