ALEXANDRIA, VA – The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) recently released the schedule for the top-notch educational sessions to be held during the 2006 IBWA Convention and Trade Show at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, from October 3 - 6, 2006.  The following education sessions represent only five and a half Continuing Education Units (CEUs) of the 23 CEUs available during the convention.  IBWA certified sessions provide the CEUs that are necessary for Certified Plant Operator accreditation and will provide innovative ideas and technologies specifically targeted to the bottled water industry.

Education session topics include the following:

• Implementing Quality Management Systems (2.0 CEUs)
 This session will detail International Standards Organization (ISO) requirements for the best Quality Management System (QMS) for attendee’s companies. They will be able to learn about the tools that are developed and actively used by a major supply chain operations company in order to implement a state-of-the-art QMS.

• A Review Session for CPOs and Prospective CPOs (1.5 CEUs)
 Anyone interested in the Certified Plant Operator (CPO) program will want to   attend this session which will review important concepts and teach what it takes to pass the CPO examination. While self-study of the IBWA Plant Technical Reference Manual and IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is an important part of the process, IBWA strongly encourages all plant operators to take advantage of this opportunity to talk with the experts.

• Quality Control in the Bottled Water Facility (1.5 CEUs)
 This comprehensive session provides information detailing the basic format of a first-rate bottled water Quality Control program and will show attendees how to incorporate regulatory and HACCP requirements into their own Quality Control programs. This presentation will also cover process, package, and product inspections.

For more about the educational sessions, registration, award programs, schedules, and other information about the 2006 IBWA Convention and Trade Show, log on to the IBWA website at http://www.bottledwater.org/public/conv2006/ or call 703-683-5213.

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters.  Founded in 1958, IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers.  IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, and state governments to set stringent standards for safe, high quality bottled water products.  Additionally, IBWA requires member bottlers to adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices, that in some cases, are more stringent than federal and state regulations.  A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Model Code of Practice is an annual unannounced plant inspection by an independent, third party organization. For more information about IBWA, bottled water and a list of members’ brands, please contact IBWA Manager of Communications Tom Gardner at 703-647-4607 or tgardner@bottledwater.org.