| Title |
Study on Hygiene Management of Bottled Water through Non-culture-based Total Cell Count |
| Authors |
정세영 ( Se Young Jeong ) ; 양민서 ( Min Seo Yang ) ; 이은수 ( Eun Su Lee ) ; 김상엽 ( Sang Yeob Kim ) ; 맹승규 ( Sung Kyu Maeng ) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2024.40.4.161 |
| Keywords |
Adenosine triphosphate; Bottled water; Drinking water; Heterotrophic bacteria; Total cell count |
| Abstract |
The demand for bottled water in South Korea is steadily increasing, but there are challenges regarding water sources and violations of water quality standards. Consumers struggle to identify products that do not meet these standards, highlighting the need for improved water management. This study aims to investigate the use of flow cytometry to identify microbial behavior in bottled water. Twelve different bottled water brands were selected for this study. A novel non-culture-based analysis method called total cell count via flow cytometry was utilized, which is not commonly used to assess drinking water quality. This method was compared to conventional culture-based methods for heterotrophic plate count and E. coli experiments, in order to introduce new indicators for hygiene management. Adenosine triphosphate analysis was also conducted to assess cell activity, and total organic carbon was measured to determine the presence of organic matter. The total cell counts varied among the different bottled water brands. The adenosine triphosphate levels ranged from 37.1ng/L to 221.7ng/L, while the total organic carbon ranged from 0.4 to 0.6 mg/L. Furthermore, E. coli was not detected in any of the bottled waters, and with the exception of two cases, the levels of heterotrophic bacteria did not exceed the drinking water standard of 100 CFU/mL. This study demonstrated a correlation between total cell count and heterotrophic plate count, suggesting that non-culture-based analysis could be valuable in promptly assessing microbial contamination, in contrast to the conventional methods that require approximately 48 hours for incubation. |