3 packaged drinking water plants shut down by FDA

PUNE: Officials of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) closed down three packaged drinking water plants in Baramati that were operating without mandatory licences.

Licences from the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) are prerequisites to run a packaged drinking water plant.

"We closed down the plants after we found that they were operating without the necessary licences. The owners have been directed not to operate the plants till they fulfil all the required compliances," said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA.

Sanjay Naragude, assistant commissioner (food) , FDA,Pune, said,"Yuvraj Dhembre, our food safety official who is posted in Baramati, received a tip-off during his routine round in Baramati market that the plants were processing and selling water in huge quantities. We raided the plants and found that they did not possess the essential licences."

Naragude said the three plants had only started operating this summer. "They would process water with the help of treatment machinery like reverse osmosis units, carbon filters and sand filters and sell the processed water in 20 litre containers to caterers, offices and wedding organisers. The plants did not have a laboratories, which is extremely important to check potability of water after processing, nor did they have test reports of their processed water from other laboratories," he said.

The increased demand for processed drinking water has resulted in proliferation of packaged drinking water plants. To make easy money, some plant owners compromise the quality of the water, which can put people's lives at risk, officials said.

Recently, traces of cyanide - a powerful poison and chemical contaminant - were found in packaged drinking water during a routine FDA exercise to check samples. The FDA had collected the samples from two plants in Jalna and Parbhani districts.

The samples were tested at the FDA's referral laboratory, which confirmed the presence of cyanide in unsafe proportions, following which the association filed an FIR against both the plant owners. Both plants were closed down after the FDA issued temporary prohibitory orders.