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Last Updated on September 26, 2024
Whether you run a restaurant, or work in a food manufacturing plant, water plays a huge role in food production and preparation. Water is one of the basic necessities in any kitchen, and is used in nearly every step of cooking and food preparation. Water is a tricky substance, however, and it often hides dangerous contaminants or offensive-tasting disinfectants like chlorine or chloramines. In order to get the best out of your food and dishes, water filtration on site is often a must. In this article we will consider some of the basics of water filtration, and how it can improve your kitchen or factory.
The Importance of Water Quality in the Food Industry
Known as the “universal solvent,” water has a tendency to invite anything and everything it touches along for the ride. Water slowly breaks down the chemical and molecular bonds of nearly every substance on the planet, including organic matter, dead animals and plants, and even rocks and boulders. Water can contain trace amounts of just about anything that can be found on planet Earth. Pure water is really nowhere to be found in nature, as all water is laden with contaminants that water has picked up on its many travels. In order to make water potable and safe to drink and cook with, it needs to be properly filtered and treated. Failure to use clean water can negatively affect the taste of your culinary creations, and can even lead to health risks and dangers, if the contaminant problems are severe enough,
Types of Water Used in the Food Industry
The food industry relies heavily on reverse osmosis as a way of getting nearly completely pure water. Tap water will be used for cleaning and various other purposes around the kitchen, but for drinking water and cooking water, some sort of treatment is advised, and reverse osmosis is a popular choice. To better understand the various roles that water plays in a kitchen or food processing plant, it is helpful to break water up into a few distinct categories.
Process water
The term “process water” refers to water used for things like dishwashers, or water that is used in manufacturing, power generation, hydroelectric usage, and so forth. Process water does not need to be filtered to the same standard as drinking water or ingredient water, though it should be treated for hardness reduction, to avoid creating problematic limescale on pipes and appliances.
Ingredient water
The water that is actually used in dishes is known as “ingredient water,” and this is where our on-site water filtration system comes into play. Various industries and restaurants will use different system types and configurations, but most will rely on a combination of sediment filters, activated carbon filters, and reverse osmosis membranes, to target and reduce a broad range of physical particulates and chemical contaminants.
Cleaning water
Water used for cleaning, mopping, and general maintenance is known as cleaning water. This water is in the same general camp as process water, and may be taken from the same source. Again, water hardness is something to look out for, as cleaning a stainless steel countertop with hard water will leave you with unsightly limescale spots.
Wastewater management
Large operations have to worry about where to send their waste water, if they are running a water softener and/or industrial RO membranes. Softeners periodically need to be backwashed in order to regenerate the ion exchange resin, and the water used to cleanse the resin beads has to go somewhere. Reverse osmosis filters produce wastewater constantly, so business owners need to be cognizant of their water usage and how much they are wasting.
Common Contaminants in Water Used in Food Processing
Contaminants that one might expect to find in their water vary greatly from region to region, and over time. Calcium and magnesium, as well as other elevated mineral levels, are common in many parts of the United States, so a water softener is often a good choice for combating that. Other common contaminants that food processors should be on the lookout for are disinfectants and disinfectant by-products. Chlorine and chloramine are not tasty, and harm the taste of food, as well as being bad for us. Activated carbon is the best way to reduce offensive chlorine tastes and odors.
Key Water Filtration Technologies for the Food Industry
The most important technologies in the food industry include reverse osmosis, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, activated carbon filtration, UV disinfection, and ion exchange (water softening).
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
One of the most aggressive forms of filtration, reverse osmosis technology was first developed as a way to desalinate seawater. RO membranes are adept at this task, though they are also great at removing other contaminants and total dissolved solids (TDS) as well. RO membranes boast pore sizes as small as 0.0001 microns, and experts at All Filters recommend reverse osmosis as the gold standard for removing TDS for water for drinking and cooking purposes. The downside of RO membranes is that they produce a great deal of waste water in the process of producing pure water. Most ROs produce roughly three gallons of waste water for every one gallon of pure water. The use of a booster pump or permeate pump can improve the efficiency of RO systems, however, though this requires access to electricity.
Microfiltration
Microfilters are a form of membrane filtration. Other membrane filters include ultrafilters and reverse osmosis. Microfilters work in the same basic way as an RO membrane, though their pores are much larger, usually around 0.1 microns. These filters are simply very dense sediment filters, and are capable of capturing and removing tinier particles than a traditional sediment filter is capable of.
Ultrafiltration (UF)
If you have water with high sediment levels, or elevated levels of clay and silt, then you may be dealing with very tiny physical particles that can be removed by an ultrafilter. Similar to a microfilter, ultrafilters have smaller pores, down to 0.01 microns, bringing them closer to the efficiency of an RO, without the downside of producing waste water.
Carbon Filtration
Whether or not you are using reverse osmosis or another form of membrane filtration in your kitchen or factory, you should be using activated carbon. No other media does better at cleaning up water aesthetically, i.e. reducing offensive tastes and odors from chlorine, VOCs, and any other chemical contaminants that are dissolved in your water. Carbon pulls dissolved chemicals out of solution, and adheres them to itself through the process of adsorption.
UV Disinfection
A UV filter will likely be overkill if you are on city or municipal water, as this water will already have undergone chlorination and/or cholramination, and will thus be microbiologically safe. If you are on well water, or another independent water supply, however, then a UV disinfectant filter may be a good investment.
Ion Exchange
Water softeners work through the process of “ion exchange,” meaning that the activated resin beads in the softener chemically “grab” calcium and magnesium ions in the water, bonding them to the surface of the resin beads. Salt is used to periodically refresh the resin beads, and a good water softener can last for twenty years, if the salt is replaced regularly and the system is cared for. If you are in an area with hard water, a softener can be a necessity. Many people choose to use a reverse osmosis system downstream from the softener to remove any excess salt put into the water during the ion exchange process.
How to Choose the Right Filtration System
The right filtration system is the one that addresses the problems in your water. There is no such thing as “the best water filter,” as water filtration is always a contextual activity. What is in your water? What do you want to remove? Gaining information about the current state of your water is the necessary first step to building a customized filtration system that adequately addresses your water and your needs.
Conclusion
Food and water live in an ongoing symbiosis, and improving the quality of the water in your restaurant or factory is a great way to enhance your products and dishes. Water is a problematic substance, but with adequate knowledge and proper planning, you can address whatever problems your incoming flow brings with it. Start by ascertaining what you need to do, and then work with a local water dealer or plumber to realize your goals.
