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Code of Practice: Processing of Bee Products

3 Potable Water

Amendment 2

June 2006

3.1 Purpose and scope

To ensure that adequate supply of potable water is available for hygienic operations so as to minimise contamination and maintain the fitness for intended purpose of edible bee products.

3.2 Sources of hazards

3.3 Mandatory requirements

HC Spec 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Schedule 1

3.3.1 Water that comes into direct contact or indirect contact with any edible bee product must be potable water at the point of use.

3.3.2 The operator must implement a reticulation management plan for potable water used within a premises or place.

3.3.3 In addition to 3.3.2, operators must implement a water management plan if:

• water is supplied by an independent supplier and is subjected to any treatment by the operator;

• or water is supplied by the operator solely for the operator's use.

3.3.4 In addition to 3.3.2 and 3.3.3, operators that supply their own water must comply with the requirements of Schedule 1 of the current version of the Animal Products (Specifications for Products Intended for Human Consumption) Notice, including completing the Water Supply Assessment Checklist for water that comes into direct or indirect contact with any edible bee product.

3.4 Procedures

3.4.1 Supply

Adequate supply of potable water must be available and used for:

• cleaning of product contact equipment and surfaces;

• cleaning and sanitation of reused packaging;

• washing of hands of personnel involved in the handling of any edible bee product, packaging, and product contact equipment; and

• any other activity wherein water comes into direct or indirect contact with any edible bee product.

3.4.2 Criteria for potable water

The criteria for potable water are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Quality of Potable Water

3.4.3 Summary of requirements for water from different sources

1. Examples of additional treatment are chlorination, filtration, boiling, ultraviolet radiation and reverse osmosis.

2. Assessment based on the completed Water Supply Assessment Checklist from Schedule 1 of the current version of the Animal Products (Specifications for Products Intended for Human Consumption) Notice.

3.4.4 Requirements for water from any source

3.4.4.1 Management of reticulation system (i.e. reticulation management plan)

a. The water reticulation system within the premises must be designed, installed and operated in such a manner that prevents:

• cross connections between potable and non-potable water;

• stagnant water (i.e. no dead ends and unused pipes); and

• back flow that may cause contamination of the water supply.

b. Water pipes, storage tanks and other parts of the reticulation system must be maintained in good condition.

c. The reticulation system must be flushed (i.e. taps are opened at point-of-use to allow a significant flow of water to occur) when water is not used for an extended period, and after any repairs to the system, to ensure that stagnant water, rust, scale and other material is flushed out of the system.

d. Operators involved in the seasonal extraction of honey or processing of other bee products must check and flush their reticulation system before pre-season cleaning is undertaken.

3.4.4.2 Procedures for non-complying water

All operations requiring the use of potable water must cease when:

• the independent supplier (e.g. local council) advises the operator that the water is not fit for drinking without additional treatment, or the operator has reason to believe that the water is not fit for use, and the operator has no other means described in the risk management programme to ensure the water is potable at the point of use; or

• if water used is supplied by the operator, and the operator fails to comply with any of the requirements of the water management plan (including corrective actions), and has no other means described in the risk management programme to ensure the water meets the original standard at the point of use.

3.4.4.3 Handling and disposition of contaminated materials

When contamination with non-potable water occurs, the following actions must be carried out:

• affected edible bee product must not be used for human consumption;

• affected product contact surfaces must be cleaned and sanitised prior to reuse; and

• affected packaging materials that cannot be effectively cleaned and sanitised must not be used for packing of any edible bee product.

3.4.5 Additional requirements for water from an independent supply with additional treatment.

In addition to the requirements given in section 3.4.4 of this document, a water management plan must be documented and implemented for water from an independent supply with additional treatment. It must include:

• information on any additional treatments (including type of treatment; parameters; procedures for control, monitoring/testing; acceptable limits);

• a water sampling and testing programme for monitoring the effectiveness of the specific water treatment applied (as indicated in Table 2 or as necessary for the effective monitoring of any specific water treatment applied); and

• corrective action procedures when the water source is found to be unsatisfactory based on the results of any test done.

3.4.6 Additional requirements for water supplied by the operator for own use

3.4.6.1 Water management plan

In addition to the requirements given in section 3.4.4 of this document, a water management plan must be documented and implemented for water that is supplied by the operator for their own use. It must include:

• an initial assessment of the water supply status by the operator by completing the Water Supply Assessment Checklist in Schedule 1 of the current version of the Animal Products (Specifications for Products Intended for Human Consumption) Notice;

• Documenting a water management plan if required. This can be simply done by completion of a separate section D1 for each problem identified in the checklist which documents the identified problem and what is being done to manage it.

3.4.6.2 Water sampling and testing

a. Potable water at the point of use must meet the criteria set out in Table 1. The minimum testing frequency required is given in Table 2.

b. Microbiological testing must be done by a LAS (Laboratory Accredited Scheme) laboratory registered for the required analysis, or a laboratory with persons who are accredited as signatories for the required analysis.

c. Water samplers must be trained by or receive instruction on how to correctly sample water from the laboratory selected.

d. Chlorine, pH and turbidity measurements must be performed by a suitably skilled person using documented methodologies (including calibration procedures) and/or calibrated equipment.

Table 2: Frequency of Testing

Operators with a secure water source are not required to test their water after the initial testing has been completed which confirms compliance with Table 1. All other water sources are subject to ongoing testing according to the frequency below.

* Water testing must be undertaken and acceptable results obtained before pre-season cleaning of the premises, facilities and equipment.

3.4.6.3 Reassessment of the status of operator supplied water

The potable water supply must be reassessed by operators who supply their own water by completing the Water Supply Assessment Checklist at least once every 3 years and within the time specified as follows:

• in the case of a new source of water being used (that is, the source changes or a new source is added), the checklist is completed prior to use of the water; and

• in the case of any changes to the environment on or around the water source that may affect the water quality, the checklist is completed within 1 month.

3.4.7 Monitoring

Compliance with these procedures must be regularly checked by the responsible person.

3.5 Records

Records containing the following information must be kept by the operator:

• completed Water Supply Assessment Checklist (for operator supplied water)

• water management plan, if applicable

• water testing results, if applicable

• observations from monitoring, any water treatment applied, and any corrective action taken.