In a bid to curb plastic usage, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has permitted hotels to serve drinking water in paper-sealed glass bottles to their house guests.
According to the FSSAI order, such paper-sealed glass bottles should be served free of cost to in-house guests and the label should prominently display “Not for Sale” along with the hotel’s name and address. “The hotels will set up in-house drinking water bottling systems in their premises for serving paper-sealed glass bottles and will follow the sanitation and hygienic conditions as per the regulations,” the order stated. The hotel companies also need to ensure that water served in such bottles conforms to BIS specifications.
In addition, it has also come out with guidelines on use of bamboo as an alternative to plastics such as straws, plates, bowls and cutlery at restaurants and hotels.
Meanwhile, FSSAI is also looking to remove restrictions on use of returnable bottles for packaging of artificially sweetened beverages. “Permitting the use of liquid nitrogen dosing in PET bottles during the packaging of drinking water,” the regulator had earlier stated.
On Thursday, the food regulator kick-started a consumer awareness campaign to promote the Eat Right India initiative in the presence of ace cricketer Virat Kohli.