India: FSSAI makes BIS certification compulsory for mineral water companies

Indian food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made it compulsory for packaged drinking water and mineral water companies to take BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification for getting license or registration from the authority.

FSSAI has given this direction in a letter to Commissioner of Food Safety of all states and UTs (Union Territories). The rule will come into effect from April 1, 2021.

The regulator said that 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.”