Food and beverage companies develop a reputation for a specific product or products that offer consistent, high quality. To meet these expectations, companies spend considerable amounts of money on sourcing ingredients, developing production systems and maintaining appropriate cleaning routines in the facility to ensure consistent production.
However, one factor that many companies don’t test for is the water. The use of hard water or sudden changes in the pH of the water can create changes in both the production of food or beverage as well as the performance of cleaning solutions.
To address these issues, top food and beverage producers make it part of their routine to use water test strips.
Hardness
The amount of calcium carbonate in the water will impact the “hardness” of the water. In general, hard water contributes to a buildup of scale in pipes and systems, which can create problems with movement of materials through pipes. Additionally, cleaning solutions react differently with hard water, leaving a soapy residue that can influence taste and quality.
By using water test strips to determine the amount of calcium carbonate in the water, appropriate steps can be taken to “soften” the water before use or to adjust system cleaning methods to remove the scale that may be present in the system.
Water pH
Water can be acidic, basic or neutral in pH. A pH of 7 is considered neutral while anything above 7 is basic and below 7 is acidic. For specific types of food and beverage production, the pH of the water can enhance chemical reactions needed for fermentation or other processes, or it can hinder these reactions.
Checking the pH of water using simple to use water test strips will provide immediate results as to the water pH. With this information, adjustments can be made to ensure the processes are completed as needed to maintain consistency in the end product.
