The Hindu : New norms for bottled water to take effect from April 1

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 16, 2003

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New norms for bottled water to take effect from April 1

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi Feb.15. The new safety and quality norms for packaged mineral and potable bottled water will become effective from April 1. A notification to this effect is expected by next month after the completion of formalities.

However, there is no move to ban or take off the shelf the current stock of bottled water as it adhered to the old specifications laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Sushma Swaraj, categorically said here today. On Wednesday, a BIS seminar of experts, scientists, industry and consumer representatives had recommended that the current packaged mineral and bottled water was `safe'.

Ms. Swaraj said the proposal for amendment to the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act and Rules, 1955, to align it with the new norms set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), was sent to the Law Ministry and is expected back in a couple of days. The notification would be issued after that. The process would take 15 days as comments, if any, are invited before it is gazetted. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry is the implementing agency.

Ms. Swaraj said the new standards, which are in line with world specifications on the minimum acceptable quantity of pesticide residue and the quality of water, would become effective from April 1. These products are under mandatory certification of the Bureau of Indian Standards.

The Technical Committee of the BIS has set new norms under which the individual pesticide residue should not exceed 0.1 micron per litre (i.e. one part in a billion) and the total pesticide residue should not be beyond 0.5 micron per litre (i.e. 5 parts in a billion).

The Department of Consumer Affairs has already advised bottled water manufacturers to go in for setting up new "capillary method'' for testing the water samples in accordance with the new norms. The mineral and bottled water manufacturers also have to produce a `no objection certificate' from the Central/State Government Groundwater authority about the quality of the water used, before obtaining a Bureau of Indian Standards certification.

The Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister, Sharad Yadav, had written to Ms. Swaraj on February 10 requesting for amendment to the PFA Act and Rules so that the new norms could be implemented by April 1 after the Technical Committee changed the norms and upgraded them.

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