ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 18, 2002 -- The Center for Public Health Education, a division of NSF International (www.nsf.org), The Public Health and Safety Company™, and the World Health Organization (WHO) co-sponsored an international symposium on the health effects of Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) bacteria in drinking water.
NSF is a specialist in standards development, product certification, education and risk-management services for public health and safety.
More than 180 participants from academia, government, industry, public health organizations, water supply and trade associations came together on April 22-24, 2002 at the Forum Park Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the following question: "Does HPC bacteria regrowth in drinking and packaged waters represent a significant health effects concern?"
The symposium was designed to produce recommendations to the WHO Expert Panel meeting held on April 25 - 26, 2002 also in Geneva. This Expert Panel meeting aimed to arrive at a scientifically based consensus on the appropriate interpretations of HPC measurements in drinking water.
"The conference was a great success and exceeded our expectations, leading to scientific consensus on the HPC issue," said Dr. Joe Cotruvo, Director of the NSF/WHO Collaborating Center for Drinking Water Safety and Treatment and principal coordinator of the conference. "In general, the concluding statement from the symposium was HPC alone does not indicate increased health risks to consumers."
"The symposium was one of the most successful conferences that the Center for Public Health Education has coordinated," said Dr. Dennis R. Mangino, President and Chief Executive Officer. "It was an honor to be associated with the world's leading experts on waterborne disease as they worked to resolve a vexing public health issue."
Dr. Jamie Bartram, Coordinator of the Water, Sanitation and Health Programme at WHO, shared his excitement on the outcome of the symposium, "It was an important public health issue to address. The participants added tremendously to the discussion that helped bring about a clear understanding of the appropriate interpretation of HPC measurements."
Limited copies of the symposium proceedings, which contain all of the non-peer reviewed papers, are available for purchase from NSF, by visiting http://www.nsf.org/conference/hpc/hpc_proceedings.html.
NSF International, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, is a global supplier of public health and safety based risk-management services. NSF services include product certification and safety audits for the food and water industries.
Other services include management systems registrations delivered through NSF International Strategic Registrations, Ltd., and education through the NSF Center for Public Health Education. NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food Safety and for Drinking Water Safety and Treatment. Serving companies in 88 countries, NSF was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI USA.
