Water is the most important element of planet earth after oxygen as it supports life and therefore when explored on a commercial platform it ought to have all quality and hygiene safeguards in place to ensure that the interests of the consumers who pay for the beverage are taken care of.
Back in the late 90s from a regulatory aspect with regard to water for sale,- there was no clear cut clarity to differentiate between purified water/bottled water and mineral/spring water, so much so that all water manufacturers had in their labels mineral mentioned which was inaccurate. Not only that, in early 2000, based on a study conducted by Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) it was noticed that most of the brands of bottled water which were certified by BIS in the form of ISI Mark that were sold in the market had high levels of pesticides - actually letting the cat amongst the pigeons.
In order to make amends and create a unified regulation for water, the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards, an apex standard setting body in the country. It has statutory powers and was set up under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986), in line with the Codex Alimentarius- International Food Standards, created and defined the following categories for commercial water in packaged containers. BIS is one of the regulatory body that monitors the overall water category for purpose of sale, the other body being that of FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India).
Scope - The standard applies to all packaged natural mineral waters offered for sale as food and therefore does not apply and impact waters sold or used for other purpose.
In layman’s term- Water that is bottled at source without subjecting it to any kind of treatment (except for separation from iron, sulphur and so on) or processes and bottling it in this true and original form. It is defined by a numerical number provided by BIS through its ISI Number as 13428 affixed on the label with the following description.
Definition – Packaged Drinking Water-
It means water derived from surface water or underground water or seawater which is subjected to treatment such as decantation, filtration, reverse osmosis and filtration with membrane. It is defined by a numerical number provided by BIS through its ISI number 13423
Definition - Naturally Carbonated Natural Mineral Water :
A naturally carbonated natural mineral water is a natural mineral water which after possible treatment as given hereunder and reincorporation of gas from same source and after packaging taking into consideration the usual technical tolerance has the same content of carbon dioxide.
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Definition -Decarbonated Natural Mineral Water :
A decarbonated natural mineral is a natural mineral water which after possible treatment as given hereunder and after packaging, has less carbon dioxide content than that at emergence.
Definition-Natural Mineral Water Fortified with Carbon Dioxide from the Source : A natural mineral water fortified with carbon dioxide from the source is a natural mineral water which after possible treatment as given hereunder and after packaging, has more carbon dioxide content than that at emergence.
Definition -Carbonated Natural Mineral Water: carbonated natural mineral water is a natural mineral water which after possible treatment as given here under and after packaging has been made sparkling by the addition of carbon dioxide from another source.
FSSAI – The Food Safety And Standards Authority of India was established in 2008 under the aegis of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare with the purpose of setting up processes pertaining to manufacture of food including beverages, their quality, storage, compliance to stated facts on the label, nutritional information and so on that would conform to the provisions of the FSS Act. With regard to water – FSSAI provides 3 types of certificates for doing business from commercial perspective.
(A) Basic Registration- for businesses having a turnover of approx. Rs 12 cr pa.
(B) State Registration- for businesses having a turnover of approx. Rs 12- 20 cr.
(C) Central Registration- for businesses having a turnover of approx. Rs 20 cr plus.
Of late there have been lot of violations in the sphere of bottled water industry wherein quite a high of water companies have not complied with both FSSAI and BIS as far the registration of the said brand is concerned. Some companies register for BIS and thereby escape scrutiny from FSSAI and vice versa. Fortunately now the body has taken this up on a water footing and this would give lot of hope to the patrons as far as safety and hygiene of bottled water is concerned.
(The author is India’s first certified water sommelier and head of operations, India and Indian Subcontinent, Veen)
November 06, 2020 at 01:49PM
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