Looking for Water Testing Recommendations

Good afternoon IFSQN,

I am preparing for a Costco audit, and they require testing of potable water from WITHIN the facility.

The lab we work with does not offer water testing in my area (Merieux). 

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm not sure what to test for since we get monthly & annual results from the city.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is doing. Our audit is at the end of April and this is one of the last items on my To-Do list. Thanks in advance!

Our 3rd party lab sends our samples out to another 3rd party lab that specializes in water testing.  We get a coliforms test result and a potability certificate.

Do you really get monthly results from your locality?  I'm impressed.  We get an annual water report that actually covers the previous year's testing results; so by the time we get it, the data is up to 18 months old.

This may be above and beyond, but we also test different locations within our facility.

There are alot of labs the do this testing.   I looked on your profile - Midwest.   I know for a fact that Midwest Labs in omaha does potability and all kinds of other water testing.   

If you contact your local or state health department they should be able to give you a list of certified labs.  

you should amend your process to test from various locations WITHIN the building on a rotating schedule--it's how you verify that your water source isn't becoming contaminated from your pipes

We use a local municipal water department for our testing. It was about $25 per sample. They supply the containers and we just wipe and heat the outlets where the samples are taken. I take them to the water dept. in a cooler and they email me a report in 24 - 48 hours. Just call the nearest (larger) water dept. and ask.

One of the overlooked issues with water testing is that there are specific requirements for specific tests, your test sites in you facility need to be listed on your program. There are also specific rules on how long the water sample site needs to be running without interruption prior to sampling. Some of the samples must be filled to a level as not to have any air bubbles in the sample, and each test has a specific sample size that must be submitted, we work closely with our lab to make sure that our sample submissions are appropriate because it gets costly having to repeat samples that are not adequate. The most important part of water testing is the chain of custody documentation, we learned this lesson the hard way.

One of the overlooked issues with water testing is that there are specific requirements for specific tests, your test sites in you facility need to be listed on your program. There are also specific rules on how long the water sample site needs to be running without interruption prior to sampling. Some of the samples must be filled to a level as not to have any air bubbles in the sample, and each test has a specific sample size that must be submitted, we work closely with our lab to make sure that our sample submissions are appropriate because it gets costly having to repeat samples that are not adequate. The most important part of water testing is the chain of custody documentation, we learned this lesson the hard way.

The Water Department we use gave me a sheet of instructions and provided over the phone answers to all my questions. I did have to run the water for a period of time now that you mention it. The sample containers were sealed and had a powder in it to help preserve the samples. We had to submit them within 4 hours of the water draw also.

One of the overlooked issues with water testing is that there are specific requirements for specific tests, your test sites in you facility need to be listed on your program. There are also specific rules on how long the water sample site needs to be running without interruption prior to sampling. Some of the samples must be filled to a level as not to have any air bubbles in the sample, and each test has a specific sample size that must be submitted, we work closely with our lab to make sure that our sample submissions are appropriate because it gets costly having to repeat samples that are not adequate. The most important part of water testing is the chain of custody documentation, we learned this lesson the hard way.

Would you be willing to elaborate on the chain of custody documentation?

Good idea about the Water Department. I will send them an email today too.

I was given a referral by the Dept. of Health, but that company has only sent me spam emails so far. Not too promising.

It would be nice to find a company in my area that I could drop samples off to. Hopefully the Water Dept. has some good news.

Thank you all for the responses. This forum has given me more guidance than my regulatory body  :helpplease:

This is the form we must submit with every sample sent to our lab.

Good afternoon IFSQN,

 

I am preparing for a Costco audit, and they require testing of potable water from WITHIN the facility.

 

The lab we work with does not offer water testing in my area (Merieux). 

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm not sure what to test for since we get monthly & annual results from the city.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is doing. Our audit is at the end of April and this is one of the last items on my To-Do list. Thanks in advance!

Hi ABFC,

Do Costco not give any idea as to the scope of  their expectations ? They seem to have extensive literature on mpst of their FS demands.

Theoretically you are faced with the trio of BCP data on internal samples which IMEX  is what is annually expected for EC purposes however  a few appropriately low numbers usually suffices for monthly testing, eg APC, Coliforms, E.coli

Make sure you're using the correct bottles----micro bottles should NOT have preservative in them--chemical analysis bottles should

You can wipe the faucet with an alcohol wipe  (you may also want to remove the fine screen inside bathroom/kitchen faucets)  and let the water run for 1-2 mintes

Here we test the water for (micro)

ecoli

HPC

Total COliforms

Background

We are a Costco vendor

Resurrecting this thread to ask a related question.

We are a Grade A dairy facility and have our water tested every 6 months for Coliform  and E.Coli as per regulatory requirements. If I'm understanding the Costco requirement, we simply need to increase our frequency to quarterly. Does this interpretation sound correct? Or are they asking for some other test besides Coliform/E.Coli?

Thanks.

Not sure of your area but in the UK we also tend to test for TVC at 22oC and 37oC as well but just for trending.

By the way on sampling, I've always been told in the UK not to do vast amounts of cleaning before sampling and not to run the tap.  The test is intended to test your water quality at point of use so should replicate that.  If taps are visually dirty it makes sense to resolve the root cause of that first.  If some taps aren't run often, perhaps even remove that leg and tap to avoid it becoming a micro issue anyway.

Also again not sure of Costco specific requirements but wherever you're based it's good practice to officially inform your water supplier that you're a food or beverage company and so should be informed if there is a boil water notice or other supply risk.

Not sure of your area but in the UK we also tend to test for TVC at 22oC and 37oC as well but just for trending.

By the way on sampling, I've always been told in the UK not to do vast amounts of cleaning before sampling and not to run the tap.  The test is intended to test your water quality at point of use so should replicate that.  If taps are visually dirty it makes sense to resolve the root cause of that first.  If some taps aren't run often, perhaps even remove that leg and tap to avoid it becoming a micro issue anyway.

 

Also again not sure of Costco specific requirements but wherever you're based it's good practice to officially inform your water supplier that you're a food or beverage company and so should be informed if there is a boil water notice or other supply risk.

Thanks for the feedback. We are based in the US and we have well water.

Not sure of your area but in the UK we also tend to test for TVC at 22oC and 37oC as well but just for trending.

Just an FYI, FSA has changed the guidance last year and removed TVC @ 37°C.