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In a move that will have profound impact in ensuring consumers get standardised goods, the Bureau of Indian Standards has decided to authorise non-governmental organisations of repute to lift samples of ISI marked products and get them tested in BIS laboratories at their own cost.
The BIS decision could be seen in the light of recent findings by an NGO exposing the presence of excess pesticide in the ISI marked product, resulting in a shake-out of the Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water industry.
The BIS that issues standardisation certification, the ISI mark, for a large spectrum of consumable products, has said that NGOs will be allowed to check the veracity of the specified contents in the product at the BIS laboratories.
"The BIS will take cognisance of the test report and would withdraw the ISI mark certification if the products are found wanting in any respect," Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Sharad Yadav said at the 18th meeting of the BIS in New Delhi on Monday.
To make the product testing process transparent and credible in the eye of public, the testing laboratories will be insulated against the influence of manufacturers. For that purpose, the sample drawn and sealed by an inspecting BIS official will not be sent to the laboratories through the official route.
Rather, such samples would be handed over to local reputed courier agencies for transporting them to the laboratories.
"The reputed NGOs and related government agencies with required technical background would be associated during surveillance/inspections of food items under mandatory specification," he said.
He said the NGOs would be involved in the "standard formulation activities and their representatives participating in such exercise would be reimbursed TA and DA."
Recently, the Centre for Science and Environment, an NGO, made public that even the top brands of bottled mineral water, sold in the country contained pesticide residues much in excess to the norms laid down by the European Union countries.
The public hue and cry that followed the exposure, forced the BIS, falling under the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry, to take cognisance of it and raided many manufacturers and seized substandard products.
Yadav said his ministry has already agreed to revise BIS norms for pesticide residues to align with EU norms.
For this purpose, the necessary amendment in the related food laws is awaiting approval of the Union health ministry, he added.
Keeping in view growing expectations of the consumers for standardised products and services, the BIS was established in 1989 and is now operating over 16,500 licences for product certification covering a wide range of products numbering over 1,000, said V Sreenivasa Prasad, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
Consumer department secretary Wajahat Habibullah said the ministry had already taken up the issue with the commerce ministry to check the import of sub-standard goods coming from China, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The items coming from these countries should comply with BIS standards, he added.
UNI