Tightening up

To rein in beverages industry

Published on:

30 Sep 2003, 12:00 am

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Quantitative change Proposed norms to improve quality of beverages
Contaminant	Permissible limits (in parts per million)
Contaminant	PFA Rules, 1955¹	New draft notification^*2
Pesticide residues	No standard	0.0001 (individual) 0.0005 (total)
Lead (in concentrated soft drinks, not including concentrates used to make soft drinks)	0.5	0.01
Copper (in soft drinks, excluding concentrates and carbonated water)	7.0	0.05
Arsenic (in soft drinks intended for consumption after dilution, except carbonated water)	0.5	0.05
Cadmium	No standard	0.01
Mercury	No standard	0.001
Chromium	No standard	0.05
Nickel	No standard	0.02
*Note: The new draft notification covers all ready-to-serve beverages Source: 1) Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955, 19th edition, 2003, International Law Book Company, p 170. 2) The Gazette of India, Union ministry of health and family welfare, Notification, New Delhi, August 26, 2003.

A measure of how much stricter the new norms are likely to be (see table: Quantitative change) is underscored by the limits prescribed for lead. Instead of the prevalent 0.5 parts per million (ppm), they are set to be fixed at 0.01 ppm -- an amount that is 50 times lesser. Those for copper are to be made 0.05 ppm as compared to the current permissible level of 7 ppm. This is over 100 times more severe.

The term "beverages" includes carbonated water, fruit and vegetable juices, fruit syrup, fruit squash, fruit drink and soft drink concentrates (after dilution as per declaration) among other products.

The plan also envisages extending to the finished product in the beverages sector, the norms that have been notified for pesticide residues in bottled water. The latter will be governed by the new rules from January 1, 2004. These stipulate that pesticide residues should not exceed 0.0001 ppm when considered individually and, as a whole, should be under 0.0005 ppm. "The analysis to verify adherence to the new rules will be done using internationally established testing methods," states the notification.

Consumer groups have welcomed the move. Kamaljit Singh, codex and food safety officer with the New Delhi-based Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education, avers: "It is a step in the right direction. As a consumer, though, I would like to have food standards that are even stricter than those of the eu. In India, a large chunk of the population is malnourished. This section would be more susceptible to pollutants than the people living in industrialised countries."

The issue of regulating beverages was brought into focus by the Centre for Science and Environment, when it released its report on pesticides in soft drinks on August 5 (see: "Colanisation's Dirty Dozen", August 15, 2003).

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