Source
r/maplesyrup•
kpoll

Bottling RO water safely in PET bottles

From a mid sized maple operation that uses an RO filter, I would like to bottle some of the by-product RO water for drinking later and I’m looking for advice from anyone who has been down this road already. We purchased 1L PET bottles, do they need to be sterilized first? Rinsed? Should the water be hot packed or the bottles “canned” in a pasteurizer? Or can it be cold bottled if everything is clean but with a limited shelf life?

Posted Mar 23, 2018, 2:08 AM UTC

65
carterbrown•

Well according to the maple sap water recommendations (link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11kQnRF5VXGJrcFV1JHSOsUTGgWo_pi-2)

They tell you to look under federal and local state laws for bottling water.

Looks like the FDA regulates bottled water: http://www.bottledwater.org/education/regulations/fda-vs-epa

I found this much:

All bottled waters, including spring water, are subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are considered packaged food products. Specific definitions and standards apply to spring water. Your products may also have to meet individual state standards as well.

2
UWroteABadSongPetey•

We are in the same boat here. Have a mid sized operation (around 1,000 taps) and bought a small RO this year and would like to bottle some of the water but haven’t been able to find a definite answer.

1
surrakdragonclaw•

I hate to pry but can I ask what your annual profit on 1000 taps is? That's about the most we could scale to without buying more land, so I'm curious. (This is my first year and I only did 50).

1
UWroteABadSongPetey•

Profit in a dollar amount is hard to say as it all depends on how/where you sell it. We have another business where we can sell most of it retail but do sell some wholesale to other businesses in the area which is obviously at a discounted price. Also going from 50 to 1000 you’re going to need different equipment which will require an up front investment and you probably wont be profitable for at least a year or 2. It also becomes a much bigger time commitment. I’m an average to good year to produce 215-250 gallons of syrup, and average probably $70-$80 a gallon retail and about $50 a gallon wholesale if we bottle it up first.

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surrakdragonclaw•

informative, thanks!

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Killer_TRR•

Holy shit. 70-80 retail. We are at fair market for my area at 50 with 22-24 for bulk/drum syrup. On the note of prying, and if you don't mind sharing. What's your market area?

1
UWroteABadSongPetey•

We don’t make enough for us to justify selling anything in bulk/drum and the vast majority of what we sell is 12 oz and under bottles which clearly helps drive up the average price. In fact the largest we sell is a plastic half gallon. We are located in upstate NY in an area that receives a lot of tourism from NYC, Long Island, NJ and CT which certainly helps with the pricing. Most people buy a couple 6 or 8 oz maple leafs to give to their neighbors/house sitter/ etc, and then a larger bottle for themselves.

Was in a local gas station/convenient store the other day and saw they were asking $15 for a pint and $38 for a half gallon which is about the highest I’ve seen.

1
gtsi12•

Doesn’t R.O. Water dehydrate you, I think once ingested it pulls the minerals out of your body. Osmosis in action.

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Killer_TRR•

You're right. I misunderstood his question. I though he meant ROing sap and selling it. You really shouldn't drink RO water as it's demineralized. Something, something science but I'm sure it's along the lines of H2O needing an extra electron and attaching to anything it can. It basically, (from what I understand) sucks the minerals stored in your body, right from your bones/muscles/fat etc..

1