Substantiation of safety and quality indicators of natural mineral and spring waters in Ukraine for the preparation of food for infants

The object of the research is regulatory support for the use of natural mineral waters and spring waters for the preparation of food for infants. Along with drinking water, natural mineral water is used for the preparation of food for infants, which is more protected from contamination. Currently, there are no approved safety parameters for natural mineral waters and spring waters in Ukraine, as well as requirements for markings on packaging or labeling that relate to the suitability of these waters for feeding infants. In this work, based on the results of the analysis of the current legal documents of European countries (Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany) on the use of natural mineral waters in the preparation of food for infants, the indicators of the safety and quality of natural mineral and spring waters in Ukraine in the preparation of food are substantiated food for infants. Because of the specific physiological needs of children at an early age, water for cooking is an important factor in their normal psychophysical development. Water for preparing infant food must meet stricter criteria for total mineralization (suggested: ≤500 mg/l), the content of certain macro-components, nitrites (suggested: ≤0.1 mg/l), nitrates (suggested: ≤10 mg/l), ammonium (suggested: ≤0.1 mg/l), fluorides (suggested: ≤0.7 mg/l), sanitary and microbiological indicators (suggested normalization of the indicator of the total microbial number in the finished product). The peculiarities of the technology of industrial packaging of natural mineral waters and spring waters for the preparation of infant food are outlined. These waters are packaged only non-carbonated, without the addition of any preservatives or disinfectants. Packaging of these waters should take place near water points, which should be reliably protected from biological and chemical contamination. The obtained results can be used for the development and approval of a normative legal act in Ukraine on the regulation of the use of natural mineral waters and spring waters for the preparation of infant food.