NGT order to FSSAI on formulating standards
Green tribunal says leading beverage companies are not following ‘labelling’ standards
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-08-07 07:54 GMT
CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) here on Thursday has held leading beverage companies accountable for not following the ‘labelling’ standards and asked Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) why an interim injunction can’t be issued.
The Bench said labels on the beverage bottles sold to public did not contain adequate stamp that the water contents adhered to standards of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). After cracking the whip on manufacturers of flavored and herbal water, the NGT is going hard against other beverage firms too for not maintaining the standards.
The NGT had earlier ordered interim injunction against nearly 135 such units selling flavored/herbal water for exceeding permissible limit of 20 colony-forming units (CFU) per ml, a standard which is applicable for packaged drinking water. The court is now applying the same yardstick on other beverage companies, including the multinationals which have failed to declare whether the water used meets the standards or not.
Speaking to the DC, counsel for FSSAI Yasmeen Ali, said as of now there are no set of standards for flavoured/herbal water. “FSSAI has now started formulating norms for flavoured/herbal water. The food authority has already constituted seven new scientific panels on July 3, including the Scientific Panel on water (including flavoured water) and Beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)”. Meanwhile, the tribunal has asked the FSSAI to come out with the time frame for formulating the standards for flavoured/herbal water.