The Department of Food Technology and Quality control (DFTQC) will conduct quality tests of the products before awarding a unique code number to each company whose water it deems fit for consumption and also fix the maximum retail price of the bottled water in coordination with the Water Tariff Fixation Committee.[break]
The DFTQC move is aimed at assuring the tourists visiting the country of the quality of bottled water apart from providing safe drinking water to the common people.
The DFTQC is also planning to publish code numbers of the companies in the media for the information of the general people. “We will provide a special code number to the companies that have maintained quality and are registered with our department,” Director General of the DFTQC Jeevan Prabha Lama said.
The DFTQC will test the quality of water before providing the special code number which the companies will print along with the batch number on the bottle. “We will first test the quality of water bottled by companies which have failed previous tests,” Spokesperson for DFTQC Pramod Koirala said.
There are 85 bottled water companies currently registered with the DFTQC but there are also many unregistered ones. “We believe there are several unscrupulous companies which are not concerned about the health of the common people,” Lama said. She expressed hope that the consumers won´t be duped by such companies once codes are introduced.
The DFTQC has found problems with products of around one third of the companies, including some of the renowned ones. It has shut down over five bottled water companies that failed quality tests.
The DFTQC is also planning to provide code numbers to other food products in the near future.
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