Regulations & Legislation
Wise up
about the water you’re serving
South Africa’s drought conditions have prompted patrons in affected areas to rethink their water consumption in restaurants, bars and hotels. South African National Bottled Water Association executive director Charlotte Metcalf, highlights what the hospitality industry should know about bottled water and the alternatives.
Members of the South as ‘natural’, ‘spring’ or African National Bottled ‘mineral’ – are bottled from Water Association sustainable sources that are (SANBWA) bottle just over replenished over time. 80 percent of the water available through formal TAPPING INTO retail and hospitality MUNICIPAL WATER outlets in South Africa. The The remaining 10 percent standards to which they is categorised as prepared are required to bottle are water, and is bottled from amongst the most stringent the municipal system. worldwide. These waters do have an When a country or impact on that system, region is experiencing a unless that system itself drought, as the Western has access to a sustainable Charlotte Metcalf, executive director of SANBWA Cape is at the moment, source. bottled water is the best option By the same token, the to put on the table and in hotel room fridges bench-top filling systems – many of which have provided water is defined as ‘natural water’ or found their way into hotels and restaurants as ‘water defined by origin’. well as caterers’ trucks – like prepared water, have This is because these waters are not sourced a major impact on the municipal system and do from the municipal supply. put it under increased pressure during times of South African legislation orders bottled water drought. (referred to as ‘packaged water’ in the legislation) This is because they tap – pun intended – into into three categories: the municipal supply, the very system everyone is • Natural waters - water obtained directly from a striving to protect. natural or drilled underground source Furthermore, these bench-top systems waste • Water defined by origin - including spring and a considerable amount of water when it comes mineral water to maintaining their hygiene and that of the • Prepared water - water sourced ‘from a tap’ bottles used. All told, putting a one-litre bottle that has undergone antimicrobial treatment as on the table probably takes close to three litres of well as treatment that alters the original physical water from the municipal system. Represented or chemical properties of the water. mathematically, that’s a 3:1 ratio. By contrast, bottled water production in South Africa has an SUSTAINABILITY OF SOURCE extremely low water footprint or ‘water usage’ About 70 percent of all bottled water in South value. The industry benchmark is 1.8:1 and there Africa is natural water while roughly 20 percent is are plants that achieve ratios of as low as 1.2:1 – spring or mineral water (water defined by origin). 1.4:1. This means that 90 percent of the waters bottled Unfortunately, these bench-top refilling systems from South African water sources comes from do not comply with South African legislation for sources that are independent of the municipal packaged water, and there are health risks, which system and do not exacerbate the shortage of water those using them in a hospitality environment in that system. should consider. Importantly, all SANBWA members bottling This is because these systems do not operate natural waters or waters defined by origin need in a clean room environment and secondary to prove the sustainability of the source before contamination from air, poorly sterilised containers they are granted membership. This means waters and handling is a given. As these systems mostly labelled with the SANBWA logo – and labelled claim to remove chlorine, the water they offer
30
June 2018 | Full Serv ce
effectively has no defence against the growth of bacteria and other microbiological organisms.
WATER JUG VS WATER BOTTLE Maybe that’s not a problem in a restaurant, if you are guaranteed the bottle you ordered is filled to order, but what if it’s the first task of the day? And, who knows how long the bottles on the retail shelves have been standing there? Ideally, this category of water should be offered in a glass or jug, not a closed bottle system mimicking bottled water. What many restaurateurs don’t know is in the absence of chlorine, they need to disclose data on shelf life, according to South African legislation.
GET REAL ABOUT RECYCLING Finally, if the system itself and the containers it is refilling are not properly cleaned and sterilised they quickly become a breeding ground for bacteria. In fact, the Grolsch-type closure – I can’t call it a seal because it is not regarded as one by law – is one of the worst offenders as that little rubber washer is notoriously difficult to sterilise. The reusable ‘Grolsch’ bottle utilised by the bench-top systems does prevent PET going to landfill. But, plastic bottled water bottles aren’t the biggest culprits in the grander scheme of plastic litter. Bottled water comprises only 8.9 percent of the total beverage market in South Africa. Rounding that percentage up, for every nine bottles of water purchased, there are 91 bottles of other packaged beverages bought. SANBWA members must use bottles designed for recycling to minimise the impact of PET use. They also contribute to recycling initiatives run by organisations such as PETCO. According to PETCO, 55 percent of PET used in South Africa is currently recycled. Consumers are entitled to choice – bottled water itself exists as a packaged beverage alternative to the other packaged beverages on shelf. And, during a drought, provided the bottler is reputable and abides by South Africa’s legislation and SANBWA’s stringent standards, it helps ease pressure on the municipal system. The message is clear: look for the SANBWA logo and support SANBWA bottlers. SANBWA - www.sanbwa.org.za