The effect of transportation vibration on the microbiological status of bottled mineral water

BACKGROUND: Microbiological status and stability are important in mineral waters because of increased global demand. An increase in distribution and supply chains has led to prolonged periods of transportation, causing microbiological changes. Therefore, this study examines the effect of vibration on mineral water quality. Freshly bottled and previously sterilized mineral waters inoculated with microbes isolated from freshly bottled water were tested. The water samples were exposed to random vibration using ASTM (D4169) truck level I, II and III standard vibration protocol for truck transportation at 4 × 1 h at 22 ± 1 °C. After agitation their microbiological status was determined. RESULTS: Under the influence of low‐intensity mechanical impact, the growth rate of autochthonous species in the freshly bottled natural mineral water tripled (μ (control) = 0.036 h(−1), μ (vibrated) = 0.093 h(−1)) and that of allochthonous species doubled (μ (control) = 0.035 h(−1), μ (vibrated) = 0.069 h(−1)). The latter was also observed in the case of high‐intensity vibration (μ (control) = 0.102 h(−1), μ (vibrated) = 0.200 h(−1)). The effect of the medium intensity of the standard was manifested in the delay in microbial growth. CONCLUSION: The impact of transportation vibrations on microbiological status changes in mineral water could be observed when subjected to vibration. The native and allochthonous species of mineral water respond differently to changes in intensity. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.