FSSAI given four weeks to report on bottled water contamination

Two years ago, a social activist filed a complaint with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), pushing the authorities to peep into the matter of packaged drinking water containing harmful substances. The complaint was forwarded to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), who later, wrote a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra to investigate the issue.

Earlier, researchers at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) found the presence of carcinogen (cancer-causing) bromate in packaged drinking water available in Mumbai.

Based on this report, an activist filed a complaint on July 7 to the NHRC, who have communicated the petition to FSSAI to seek the action-taken report within four weeks. The FSSAI has further forwarded the complaint to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 22 stating that they should investigate and take action as per provisions of FSS Act 2006 and allied rules and regulations.

The activist, who did not wish to be named, said, “A report must be asked on the study conducted and various matters highlighted by it from FSSAI.”