BIS certification mandatory for packaged drinking water
23 Sep 2010
The government has banned the manufacture, sale or exhibition for sale of packaged drinking water and packaged mineral water except under certification by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has formulated IS 14543:2004 certification for packaged drinking water (other than natural mineral water) and IS 13428: 2005 for packaged natural mineral water, which provide quality norms for packaged water.
Currently, there are 18 BIS licensees engaged in production of packaged natural mineral water, 2,354 licensees producing packaged drinking water through reverse osmosis, and 633 licensees bottling packaged drinking water drawing water from natural resources, an official release said today.
State governments and union territory administrations are responsible for implementation of the PFA Act and rules framed under the Act.
BIS undertakes periodic surveillance inspection and testing of samples from the market for maintaining the quality of the products of its licensees as per the prescribed Indian standards, the release added.