3 min readNew DelhiDec 4, 2024 07:30 AM IST
First published on: Dec 3, 2024 at 03:18 PM IST
Could that packaged drinking water you trust blindly be contaminated? Well, the country’s apex food safety regulator has placed packaged drinking water under a “high risk food category” to ensure that its manufacturers undergo inspection at least once a year. Only then will their licence be granted, according to the notification from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Why has water been termed as a high-risk food?
Categorising a product as “high-risk” ensures regular mandatory inspection of facilities handling them. This ensures strict vigilance.
The current notification — issued on November 27 — follows on the heels of another amendment last month doing away with the mandatory requirement of certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards in addition to a food safety licence. This was done to simplify the process of registration and doing away with double requirements for the food business operators.
The present order states: “Consequent to the omission of sub-regulation … which pertains to mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for certain food products, it has been decided that packaged drinking water and mineral water (for which BIS certification was mandatory prior…) will be treated under high risk food categories. It is to be noted that other food products for which BIS certification was mandatory are already identified as high-risk…”
What are high-risk foods?
The food safety authority has a risk-based categorisation of food items — ensuring that facilities handling foods that are at the highest risk of contamination get regularly inspected. Most facilities manufacturing or processing these high-risk food items have to be inspected either once every year or once every two years by third-party auditors approved by FSSAI.
What’s the safety score?
Manufacturers and processors of the highest risk products — for which inspection is required every year — may be exempted for one additional year if they score more than 80 per cent on the audits or a hygiene rating of five smileys.
Foods termed as high-risk by the FSSAI include dairy products, meat and meat products, fish and fish products, egg and egg products, foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional use, prepared foods, Indian sweets and nutrients such as fortified rice kernels.
How is food safety ensured?
The FSSAI and state food safety authorities carry out mandatory inspections of food business operators throughout the year. Usually, inspections are carried out before a food business operator is granted a licence or randomly carried out for surveillance by the states. Follow-up inspections are done if the auditors suggest so and selective inspection is done while renewing the licence. Inspections may also be carried out based on complaints or any emergency such as an outbreak of food-borne infections.
FSSAI, the country’s apex food safety regulator has placed packaged drinking water under a “high risk food category”. (Representational Image: Pexels) 
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