BIS certification to be mandatory on packaged drinking water

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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made it mandatory for manufacturers of packaged drinking water and mineral water to take BIS certification for obtaining license or registration from the regulator.

The FSSAI on Friday said that FBOs(Food Business Operators) will have to mandatorily upload copy of the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) license or copy of letter indicating recording of application for BIS license, at the time of applying for new license for packaged drinking water and mineral water from the FSSAI on the online system of FoSCoS.

FSSAI said that as per Section 31 of FSS Act 2006, all Food Business Operators (FBOs) have to obtain license/ registration before commencement of any food business.

Further, Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations 2011 state that no person should manufacture, sell or exhibit for sale, packaged drinking water and mineral water except under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification mark, said FSSAI.

However, it has been reported that a number of manufacturers of packaged drinking water and mineral water are in operation with FSSAI license but without BIS certification mark, it added.

"To ensure compliance with the availability of BIS license by the manufacturers of packaged drinking water and mineral water, it has been decided to make BIS license/application for BIS license a precondition for issuing FSSAI license," said the food regulator in its order.

It said that BIS license shall be mandatory while applying for renewal of license. After obtaining the BIS license, the FBO should furnish its details in online annual return, said FSSAI.

"In the event of closure of rejection of application for license by BIS, the FBO shall inform the concerned licensing authority and the FSSAI application/license is liable to be rejected/suspended/ cancelled," said the regulator in its order.

The order will come into effect from April 1, said FSSAI in a letter to the Commissioner of Food Safety of all states and Union Territories and all central licensing authorities.

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