The behaviour of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in bottled mineral water

• Published in: Heliyon Vol. 9; no. 11; p. e21634
• Main Authors: Schalli, Michael, Platzer, Sabine, Haas, Doris, Reinthaler, Franz F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Escherichia coli; Food contamination; Mineral water; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Water supply; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Escherichia coli; Water supply; Food contamination; Carbon dioxide; Mineral water
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21634

Microbial contamination of bottled water during the filling and capping procedure is a problem which should be avoided. The examination of the influence of carbon dioxide (CO2) on bacterial growth of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) in bottled mineral water was the aim of this study. Commercially available glass bottles with plastic screw caps filled with natural mineral water (without additional CO2 “still” (StMW) and with CO2 “sparkling” (SpMW) were obtained from a manufacturer in the province of Styria, Austria. The artificial contamination was performed in the lab by opening the bottle with subsequent addition of a bacterial solution with a defined number of bacteria. For each bacterial strain, 12 bottles were prepared. Samples (100 mL) were taken after a specific number of days, filtrated and placed on Endo Agar for cultivation. After incubation for 24 h bacterial colonies were counted. In this study CO2 addition to bottled water reduced colony forming units of the two investigated bacterial strains over time.