The bottled mineral water of Bisleri brand (with added minerals) was found to be unsafe for drinking due to the presence of a high quantity of fluoride.
The Commissioner of Food Safety, Government of Assam on September 12th, 2019 issued a notification that packaged drinking water of the Bisleri brand (with added minerals) is unsafe in terms of section 3 (1) (zz) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
In the notification, the department clearly mentioned that the Bisleri packaged drinking water (with added minerals) contains a high quantity of fluoride content which is harmful to the human body. A copy of the notification is available with Time8.
The notification dated September 12th, 2019 read, “Based on a report by the Food Analyst, government of Assam, the samples of Bisleri packaged drinking water do not conform to the prescribed standard, with respect to fluoride content as laid down in Regulation 2.10.8 of Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Additives) Regulations, 2011 and declared it unsafe.”
A Food Analyst of the Assam government said, “When we tested the water we found a high quantity of fluoride beyond permissible levels. We have strictly asked the manufacturers to improve the quality of the water. We will run tests again and if they will improve then, they can resume selling.”
Meanwhile, the department has asked the manufacturer GD Aqua, Dolma Industrial Area located in Baihata, Kamrup to immediately stop the storage, distribution and sale of the product in the markets for a period of 30 days starting immediately.
Photo: Smita Rani Deka
