PUNE: Traces of cyanide, a powerful poison and chemical contaminant, have been found in packaged drinking water during a routine exercise of the Food and Drugs Administration to check samples. This is the first time cyanide has been found in packaged drinking water in the state.
The FDA had collected the samples from two plants located in Jalna and Parbhani districts. The samples were tested at FDA's referral laboratory that confirmed the presence of cyanide in unsafe proportion, following which the body filed an FIR against both the plant owners.
Officials said they will now move court against the plant owners for violating norms of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, there should be no trace of cyanide in packaged drinking water. Both the plants have been closed down after FDA issued temporary prohibitory orders.
The major source of cyanide in drinking water is discharge from industrial chemical factories. People who drink water containing cyanide for many years could experience nerve damage or problems with their thyroid.
FDA officials had picked up samples of bottled water from the packaged water plant located in Ner village in Jalna district as part of a routine check. They sent the samples to Pune-based State Public Health Laboratory for testing, which found it unsafe for human consumption as it had rod-shaped bacteria called coliform in high proportion.
When the plant owner was informed about the negative test results, he rejected it and asked the officials to reconfirm the results with the government's referral laboratory in Ghaziabad. Officials then sent another bottled water sample drawn from the same plant in the prescribed format to this laboratory. The referral laboratory cited the presence of cyanide about a month and a half ago.
Read More Here - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Traces-of-cyanide-found-in-packaged-drinking-water/articleshow/35175871.cms
