KMC to issue showcause notice to 3 packaged drinking water companies

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to issue showcause notice to three noted packaged drinking water companies, after its food safety officers stumbled upon coliform bacteria in jars of these companies.

The civic body will also initiate legal steps against a number of companies dealing with packaged drinking water, even though they do not possess proper licence.

"The showcause notice will demand an explanation on the part of these companies as to why coliform bacteria, much above the permissible limit, have been found in their packaged drinking water jars, despite them having the stamp of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). For the legal step against the unlicensed packaged water, we are waiting for the approval of the Food Safety Commissioner," Member, Mayor-in-Council (Health) Atin Ghosh said.

It may be mentioned that tests by the KMC laboratory had detected irregularities in as many as 12 of 15 bottles of packaged drinking water, three of them ostensibly from reputable brands. The samples were recovered after a joint raid by KMC food safety officers and the enforcement branch of state police.

It may be mentioned that KMC has also come upon a number of companies involved in the manufacture of packaged water, without having any valid licence. "We are writing to the DG of enforcement branch, along with a list of these factories, urging them to take action," a senior food safety officer said.

The civic official said the premium brands "faked and sold" in the market, were mostly found from College Street, Rajabazar, Sealdah, Chittaranjan Avenue, Mullickbazar, Park Circus and Picnic Garden areas.

The civic body's findings are shocking, especially in the wake of the recent enteric spread in the city's southern suburbs. Scared of the water supplied by KMC, several residents had no option but to buy packaged drinking water.