Documents obtained exclusively by CNBC-TV18 show that nearly 4,000 food business operators dealing with packaged water do not have an Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) license.
The food regulator has confirmed to CNBC-TV18 that nearly 4,000 packaged water companies in the country are operating without a license and steps are being taken to set this right.
Documents obtained exclusively by CNBC-TV18 show that nearly 4,000 food business operators dealing with packaged water do not have an Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) license.
Also, of the 6,000 food business operators in the country, only 1,500 have both an FSSAI license and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, whereas the top 20 packaged water brands are on the right side of the law.
Pawan Agarwal, CEO of FSSAI said, “There must have been some kind of communication gap among these businesses whether or not they are required to have FSSAI license so we are approaching them and we are finding no resistance at all from these companies.”
The BIS is learnt to have told the FSSAI that nearly 80 percent of the companies dealing with packaged water are in direct violation of the FSS Act of 2006. “BIS is responsible for ensuring standards of packaged water, in fact FSSAI has delegated the responsibility to BIS. Now BIS does not have any powers of prosecution so if there is any problem they can cancel the license of manufacturer but cannot prosecute them,” Agarwal said.
The food regulator has now stepped up and has written to the state food commissioners to crack down on unlicensed packaged drinking water.
It has also directed all fixed-base operator (FBO) dealing with packaged drinking water to obtain a license immediately.
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