With the rising rate of water pollution, it has become difficult to trust the purity of drinking water available today. In order to ensure the purity of the packaged drinking water available in the market, the Food Safety & Standard Authority of India or FSSAI, has changed the guidelines for packaged drinking water plant manufacturers. This blog will highlight those guidelines involved in packaged drinking water policy.
Packaged drinking: New guidelines to follow
Drinking water can be derived from several sources of water like underground water, local water supply, sea, surface water or any other consistent water source. However, drinking water manufacturing companies need to follow the steps mentioned below for packaged drinking water before selling it in the market. According to FSSAI, here are a few important guidelines involved in packaged drinking water policy:
- Water collected from any source should go through a proper treatment process in the water treatment plant. It involves the process of decantation, filtration, verification, cartridge filter, deionization, re-mineralization and removing impurities through a reverse osmosis plant.
- It is important to ensure that the water is fully disinfected so that the packaged water is completely harmless and can be consumed safely. It will also ensure that the level of microorganisms present in the water is at the accepted consumption level.
- Water collected from the sea should be completely desalinated so that the salt ions present in the water can be removed.
- The water should be filled properly with an air-tight seal in the bottles. At the same time, it should not get in contact with any other treatment process after the water is filled and sealed in a bottle.
- The minerals which are approved by FSSAI should be used in water. If the water treatment process includes remineralization, then only approved minerals should be allowed to use in water which is pharma quality/food grade.
The packaging and labelling guidelines involve the following aspects:
- Only clean, transparent, colourless, tamper-proof and hygienic bottles should be used.
- Packaging of water bottles should be used according to the food-grade plastic guidelines.
- Every packaged drinking water bottle should have the declaration “Crush bottles after use” written on the label.
These are some important steps involved while manufacturing a packaged drinking water bottle. At the same time, every packaged drinking water plant has to follow the rules and regulations mentioned above. Lalita Projects Private Limited is one of the leading packaged drinking water manufacturers and has always maintained the safety and hygienic aspects of packaged drinking water.