The consumer affairs ministry on Tuesday expressed willingness to issue ISI mark licence for soft drinks provided the companies approach them on the matter, something they had failed to do so far.

The ministry also said the health ministry under which the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act is administered, has till now not recommended making ISI licence mandatory for soft drinks.

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"The Bureau of Indian Standards norms for soft drinks are optional in nature, if a company approaches us for the ISI mark, we are prepared to issue them a licence but none has applied so far," Wajahat Habibullah, consumer affairs secretary, told PTI in New Delhi on Tuesday.

He said if a cola company wanted to score a mark over its competitors it could always apply for a BIS licence and in accordance with the rules and based on the standards governing the product it will be permitted to use the ISI mark.

He said the BIS standard on soft drinks were only voluntary unlike the ones for bottled and packaged drinking water which had been made mandatory after a recommendation to this effect came from the health ministry.

In the case of soft drinks, the health ministry has not made any such recommendation though the pesticides-cola controversy was discussed between the two ministries. "Nothing is on the cards (mandatory BIS licence)," he said.

Nevertheless the BIS is taking several initiatives on its own keeping in mind the safety of the consumer regardless of the administering body for a particular product. These include securing consumer interests in gold, water and electrical equipment.