Mumbai: FSSAI will set up a panel of scientists to identify limits in contaminated water

Mumbai: In a bid to identify micro-plastics and micro fibres in drinking water bottles, for the first time the Bureau of Indian Standards and another food safety auditing body will be working with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for identifying the parameters, so that they can check the level of contamination in water which can cause severe health issues.

A senior official said they will be setting a panel of scientists and experts who will be working to decide on the parameters. “The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sought a review of the samples that can cause a severe health risk due to contaminated water which contains micro-plastics and micro-fibres, for which the panel will be set immediately to work on the report,” said an FDA official.

A recent report conducted across the world showed that the samples collected from India were the third most contaminated, after the United States and Thailand. According to the study, on an average, four plastic fibres between 0.1 and 5 mm in size are found in one litre of water in India.

FDA official said there are no such parameters to decide on the level of plastic contamination of bottled water. “The higher authorities have been asked to set up guidelines that would help in identifying the parameters. Once the parameters are set we will start collecting the water samples for testing,” said Dr Pallavi Darade, FDA Commissioner.

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A senior officer from FSSAI of the western region said that currently, there are regulations to test the presence of pesticides and microorganisms but not the plastic fibres. “The report has put pressure on FSSAI so a panel of experts would be formed who would decide on the parameters as the guideline of WHO. According, the required amendments would be made,” added official.

The health experts said the study on plastic fibres requires a lot of research and experimentation.

“A few years back, there were hardly any laboratory to test on plastic particles. But though we have come a long way still the research is in its initial stage. The long-time consumption of plastic fibres can serious health issues like cancer, birth deficiency, and other digestive systems,” said Dr Rakesh Mehra.