Glass bottles will soon have a date of birth. Check to see you're not buying reused, old bottles that will endanger your health
Glass bottles will soon have a date of birth. Check to see you're not buying reused, old bottles that will endanger your health
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After getting complaints that bottles were being reused rampantly, and without the necessary sterilisation, the All India Glass Manufacturers Federation (AIGMF) decided last week to put manufacturing dates on bottles from this July. The AIGMF has taken up the issue with the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Indian Medical Association, but are yet to receive a positive response.
"We get many patients who complain about skin infections, but it is difficult to prove the reason as there is no methodology to detect it," said Dr Malavika Kohli, consultant dermatologist and cosmetologist for Jaslok and Breach Candy hospitals. "Markings on the bottles will help manufacturers ensure that their products are packed safely in clean glass containers. Also, it will curtail illegal manufacture by reducing the usage of unaccounted packaging materials," said Sanjay Jain, an AIGMF spokesperson.
Jain explained that in developed markets, glass packaging is a one-time phenomenon. But in India, the re-use of glass bottles is prevalent in segments like soft drinks, beer, liquor and even in food & beverages.
"Our bottle manufacturing company has been following the step for years. The bottle is reused for a period of five years (used twice or thrice for packaging) unless it is not damaged," said a spokesperson from a Cola company.
Others like J S Shinde, president of the All India Organisation Of Chemists Association is happy with the move, as he believes it will curtail the number of spurious medicines coming into the market. "If the product is spurious, there is a chance that they are not washed properly, because of which it ultimately mixes with the medicines that leads to nausea. Also one of the reasons would be that the cost of glasses has gone up. So spurious products are coming into the market."
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