Water testing

Water is used in almost every process in the food industry: as an ingredient, for washing raw materials, for cleaning and for raising steam. Its quality has a direct effect on product safety, and businesses that draw water from their own sources, bottlers and those responsible for internal distribution systems need to check it regularly.

What we test

We test drinking and mains water, table water, mineral and spring water, private well and borehole water, monitoring water, process water and waste water. For water intended for human consumption, the usual set covers organoleptic examination, the basic physico-chemical indicators (pH, conductivity, turbidity, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, free residual chlorine, oxidisability, hardness), metals, and microbiological indicators such as Escherichia coli, coliform bacteria and intestinal enterococci.

For waste water and process water we determine, among others, chemical and biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, total nitrogen and phosphorus, detergents and petroleum products. The parameter set depends on the purpose: own checks, a customer requirement, or verification after work on the installation.

Many of these tests are included in our RENAR accreditation annex, for the water matrices listed there.

Drinking water monitoring

The ICA R&D laboratory is registered with the Romanian Ministry of Health to carry out drinking water quality monitoring, under Order of the Minister of Health no. 764/2005, as amended (registered on 2 October 2024; evaluating body: National Institute of Public Health – LNSP Bucharest). The registration can be checked in the Ministry’s register of laboratories for drinking water quality monitoring.

This means we can carry out the analyses required by check and audit monitoring programmes of drinking water producers and distributors, of operators with their own water sources (food businesses, hotels, institutions) and of water bottlers.

Registration certificate no. 770 of 02.10.2024 covers operational monitoring and sampling of drinking water for 20 parameters: colony count at 22 °C and 37 °C, coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli, intestinal enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, chloride, conductivity, colour, total hardness, iron, taste, odour, oxidisability (permanganate index), pH, turbidity and manganese. The certificate (PDF, in Romanian)

Regulatory framework

• Directive (EU) 2020/2184 on the quality of water intended for human consumption, transposed in Romania by Government Ordinance no. 7/2023, approved by law;
• Order of the Minister of Health no. 764/2005 on the registration of laboratories performing drinking water quality monitoring, as amended;
• Directive 2009/54/EC on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters;
• Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, which requires potable water to be used in food businesses.

How we work

Results depend heavily on how the sample is taken, especially for microbiological tests. We therefore tell you which containers to use, the volume needed and how to transport the samples to the laboratory. You receive a test report; accredited tests are marked as such on the report.