Food Safety officials on Wednesday shut down an illegal Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant in Mahendramangalam.
Acting on a tip-off, a team led by District Designated Officer for Food Safety A. Banu Sujatha conducted the raid in Poothipatty village in the Thimarayanahalli panchayat of Mahendramagalam. The Food Safety Department stated that the RO water purification plant was situated on agricultural land in Poothipatty village. It was found that the plant had no valid licenses or permits and that it was drawing groundwater and packaging it in 20 ltr cans. K. Nandagopal, a food safety officer who was part of the team, reported that the owner of the plant was a man named Krishnan, who had bought the land on lease. Ms. Banu Sujatha sealed the unit.
Further, the department highlighted the various requirements that need to be fulfilled to set up a water purification plant, beginning with a permit from the Public Works department for selecting the site after checking the potability of the water, and permission to sink the bore and draw water, and clearances from the local panchayat, certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards, and a valid license from the Food Safety department. Other criteria include, canning the water in sealed bottles containing details of the manufacturer, address, food safety license number, the date of manufacture, and the expiry of the water, among other relevant information, the officials added.
