Packaged water under Maharashtra FDA scanner for bromate levels: Sources

Popular packaged water brands like Bisleri, Kinley, Aquafina, Himalayan are under the scanner. CNBC-TV18's Priya Sheth learns from sources that the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered testing of all popular drinking water brands to check for bromate levels.

The issue of high bromate levels in packaged water has been flagged by various activists which prompted India's food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to order Maharashtra FDA to test samples.

Sources says the Maharashtra FDA will collect 20-25 samples of this packaged drinking water and will be submitting report to India's food regulator FSSAI over the next one-two months.

The levels for Bromate had not been defined but they are now been defined at 10 microgram per litre in packaged drinking water.

CNBC-TV18 wrote to companies and Bisleri has confirmed that Maharashtra FDA has been collecting samples for Bromate testing.

Meanwhile, Himlayan, which has Tata Global Beverages has said there is no risk of contamination from industrial or man-made process and they test their water regularly.

The channel is awaiting comments from PepsiCo as well as Coca Cola.