Soon, reusable water bottles and utensils made of various material cannot be sold without the ISI mark in Tamil Nadu. In a bid to establish quality standards in commonly used products, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has made certification mandatory and developed mandatory quality control order for these products to curb sales of substandard products.
It has set a deadline for manufacturers to get the licence by January 5 and February 9 next year for water bottles and cookware. The widely used insulated flasks and containers in households had been brought under the ambit of mandatory BIS certification, said officials of BIS, Chennai.
Officials said potable water bottles in a riot of colour, shapes and materials like copper, stainless steel and aluminium and cooking utensils in various materials such as stainless steel and wrought aluminium are most sought-after for their promise of a healthy lifestyle.
To improve manufacturing quality of these items that were growing popular and enhance consumers’ safety and health, the BIS has come out with specifications for manufacturing the products. Even the tinplate packaging used for food and beverages like infant milk food, instant coffee, tea and condensed milk would now need to get compulsory BIS certification, the officials said.
G. Bhavani, head, BIS, Chennai branch office, said while only one manufacturer each had obtained licence in the State for water bottles and stainless steel vacuum flask, no manufacturer of insulated flask or stainless steel cookware had approached BIS for licence. The BIS has provided six licences to producers of wrought aluminium utensils so far.
“We are identifying manufacturers to encourage them to apply for licences in the next few months. We will organise meetings with industry associations to create awareness about the standards. Manufacturers will be provided licences within 30 days with simplified procedure,” she said.
Retailers will be sensitised to clear stock within the stipulated time as manufacturing, storing and sale of non-BIS certified products will be considered as a violation of the BIS Act. Licences would be granted after testing product samples through BIS recognised labs, Ms. Bhavani added.
