Chennai, Feb 14: In a significant interim measure aimed at safeguarding public health, the Madras High Court has directed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to warn consumers about the possible presence of micro and nano plastics (MNPs) in packaged drinking water, salt and sugar sold in Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles and plastic packs.
Court orders warning labels on packaging
A special Division Bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy, constituted to hear forest and environment-related matters, ordered that labels on PET bottles and plastic packets of sugar and salt must carry a warning in red font of size 10 stating: “This water may contain micro/nano plastics” or “This salt/sugar may contain micro/nano plastics.”
The court has directed the Ministry and FSSAI to issue an appropriate notification within four weeks and instruct all companies selling drinking water, salt and sugar in PET bottles and plastic packaging to strictly comply with the new labelling requirement. The FSSAI has also been asked to file a status report by April 10.
Case linked to single-use plastic ban
The directions were issued during the hearing of a case concerning the Tamil Nadu government’s ban on single-use plastics. Three amici curiae had informed the court that banned plastics continue to find their way into the pristine forests of the Nilgiris Biosphere and other parts of the Western Ghats, where they are consumed by wild animals.
Besides, an interim report by PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, noted that microplastics comprise several elements, including Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in plastic production that can interfere with hormone functions.
The institute measured BPA levels in cord blood samples. Analysis of 10 samples showed BPA concentrations were above the recommended tolerable daily intake value of 0.2 ng/kg body weight per day.
Studies and findings cited in court
When the judges sought to know whether the Union Health Ministry or FSSAI had conducted studies on the adverse impact of MNPs, senior panel counsel V Chandrasekharan informed the issue was discussed at the 14th meeting of the scientific panel on packaging held in Mumbai last year.
He also referred to a project launched by FSSAI in March 2024 in collaboration with CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow; ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi; and Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, to study micro and nano-plastics as emerging food contaminants.
Upon perusing the project report, the Bench noted findings of microplastics in 11 bottled water samples collected from six States and Union Territories, and also in salt and sugar samples. The report stated that Raman Spectroscopy and Fluorescence Imaging Techniques effectively detected microplastics, with iodised salts showing the highest number.
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Though FSSAI Joint Director G V Srinivasan submitted that studies were at a nascent stage and further research was needed, the court held that initial findings were sufficient to mandate consumer warnings.
“Safety is the primordial factor,” the Bench observed, adding that in matters posing grave health risks, authorities must lean on the side of caution and ensure consumers are informed until conclusive findings emerge.
