India Classifies Packaged Drinking Water and Mineral Water as High-Risk Food

On November 29, 2024, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an order to categorise packaged drinking water and mineral water as high risk food items. This decision builds on the authority's earlier move in October, 2024 to abolish the requirement for these products to bear the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification mark. This new classification subjects these products to stricter safety inspections and compliance checks, aligning them with other high-risk categories such as dairy, meat, and prepared foods.

Key developments

Manufacturers of the packaged drinking water and mineral water will have to undergo mandatory annual inspections conducted by FSSAI. In addition, all centrally licensed manufacturers under high-risk food categories, now including packaged drinking water and mineral water, shall get its business audited by FSSAI recognised third party food safety auditing agency every year.

List of high-risk food categories

The updated list of high-risk food categories in India now includes:

• Dairy products and analogues

• Meat and meat products including poultry

• Fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms

• Eggs and egg products

• Foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses

• Prepared foods

• Indian sweets

• Nutrients and their preparations (Fortified rice kernels only)

• Non-alcoholic (“soft”) beverages - Packaged drinking water and mineral water only