The Department of Health & Family Welfare has informed that many Packaged Drinking Water (PDW) Manufacturers/Suppliers are functioning without BIS License which is a precondition to apply for FSSAI License/Registration. Consumption of clean and safe drinking water is a human fundamental right which is crucial in maintaining good health, and it is the responsibility of the PDW manufacturer/supplier to provide clean, hygienic and safe water to its customers. 

 Regulation 2.3.14 (17) and (18) of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011, states that “No person shall manufacture, sell or exhibit for sale, Packaged Drinking Water (PDW) and Mineral Water (MW) except under the Bureau of Indian Standards Certification Mark (BIS)”. Accordingly, all the PDW suppliers are hereby informed that BIS license is mandatory irrespective of the annual turnover. Further, any import of PDW/Mineral Water from outside the state without BIS certification is not allowed for sale within the state. 

Failure to comply with the above guidelines will attract penalty under section 58 and 63 of Food Safety & Standards Act’ 2006.

(DIPR)