GUWAHATI: The district administration will launch a drive against illegally running water bottle packaging factories in Kamrup district.
At a disaster management meeting held at the district collector's office on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha asserted that he will set up a task force by 'Food Safety Officer', Police, Circle Officer etc. to launch a drive against unhealthy and illegal water bottle packaging factories set up in different parts of the city.
There are many water bottle packaging factory whose produce packaged drinking water bottles may not be safe for consumption.
In the State, there has been a mushrooming growth of local packaged drinking water units. Most of them are operating without proper certificates. So, there is a big question mark over the quality of the water that is being packaged and sold to gullible consumers.
To start a packaged drinking water unit, one needs at least 10 mandatory certificates. Most of the local packaged drinking water units operating in the State do not have all the mandatory licences. They are clearly working against the food safety laws of the country and thereby, putting public health at risk.
To start a packaged drinking water unit, the following certificates are mandatory – trade license from the local municipal bodies, certificate from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), certificate from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), certificate from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), certificate from the Pollution Control Board (PCB) and certificate from the Department of Legal Metrology.
In addition, one will require test reports of the water, whether the water is microbiologically safe for consumption or not, what is the percentage of nitrate, sulphur and fluoride in the water etc. Moreover, the processed water must be filled in bottles that are tamper-proof, tight and impervious, as per the BIS standards.
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