The government on Monday said it would not ban the use of the insecticide chloripyriphos, residues of which have been found in packaged mineral water sold in Delhi and Mumbai.

Replying to a question by B P Singhal in the Rajya Sabha, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj said use of pesticide was as per the Registration Committee guidelines and did not pose any risk to human health and environment.

She said chloripyriphos was registered under the Insecticide Act, 1968 and the government had allowed its use based on recommendations by an expert committee given in 2000.

The minister also denied that there were differences between her ministry and the Bureau of Indian Standards on the safety standards specifications on packaged drinking water.

The BIS, she said, had asked the health ministry to amend specifications of packaged drinking water and mineral water to align them with European Union norms.

The maximum residue limits of pesticides in packaged drinking water was fixed at 0.0005 mg/litre and the manufacturers were required to obtain No Objection Certificate from the central and state government ground water authority for obtaining BIS certification.

She said there was need to harmonise the standards prescribed under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules and the amended BIS standards. A draft notification inviting comments from public to amend the PFA rules 1955 were issued in February.

UNI