On 17 October 2026, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced that it had started legal proceedings for prosecution against three food businesses for what it called "serious food safety violations". The best-known name is Surya Food & Agro, maker of Priyagold biscuits. Dodla Dairy and UEIR Organic Foods are the other two.
None of these companies makes packaged drinking water. But packaged drinking water sits in the same FSSAI High-Risk Food Category as milk and dairy, and the way these cases started and grew is exactly how an enforcement case against a water plant would unfold. Here is what was reported, and what every plant owner should take from it.
What FSSAI found
Surya Food & Agro (Priyagold biscuits). According to FSSAI, an inspection that followed a consumer complaint found that bran "meant for cattle feed and not intended for human consumption" was being used as a fibre source in biscuit manufacturing. The gunny bags were reportedly marked as cattle feed. Inspectors also listed deficiencies in plant hygiene, pest control, raw material storage and segregation, personnel hygiene and premises maintenance. FSSAI had already suspended the company's licence; it has now moved to prosecution.
Dodla Dairy (full cream milk). A regulatory sample was first declared substandard because milk fat was below the prescribed limit. The company appealed. The Referral Food Laboratory then found the sample unsafe because of detergent or caustic soda, as well as substandard on fat. Prosecution has been sanctioned against the company and the other businesses involved in making and marketing the product.
UEIR Organic Foods (yellow raisins). Pesticide residues were found in the sample, and prosecution proceedings have been started.
Reports did not carry a response from any of the three companies. These are proceedings, not convictions, and each company will have its say in court.
Why this matters to a water plant
Under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, food that is "substandard" attracts a penalty, while food that is "unsafe" can lead to prosecution with possible imprisonment. The line between the two is often one laboratory result. The Dodla case shows that an appeal to the referral laboratory can make matters worse rather than better.
For packaged drinking water, FSSAI's order of 29 November 2024 brought the product into the high-risk category. That means an inspection before the licence, a risk-based inspection every year, an annual third-party audit for centrally licensed units, and, from 1 January 2026, compulsory monthly testing at FSSAI-notified NABL laboratories (see our testing calendar). A water plant is now watched as closely as a dairy.
Five lessons for packaged drinking water plant owners
1. Every input must be food grade, and documented as such
The Priyagold case turned on one raw material that was labelled for animal use. In a water plant, the equivalent inputs are preforms, caps, labels, shrink film, and treatment chemicals such as antiscalants, chlorine, and ozone-generator parts. Keep supplier certificates showing food-grade status for every lot, store non-food chemicals (diesel, lubricants, cleaning agents) well away from production, and never let a "temporary" substitute in without paperwork. An inspector will read the bag before reading your records.
2. Cleaning chemicals must not reach the product
Dodla's sample was declared unsafe because of detergent or caustic soda. Water plants use caustic and acid for CIP (clean-in-place) of tanks, lines and filling machines, and for jar washing. Keep written CIP procedures with final-rinse checks (pH or conductivity) before production restarts, and record them every time. A caustic residue in a 20-litre jar is exactly the kind of finding that turns a routine sample into an unsafe-food case.
3. Source water is your "raw material", so test it like one
The raisin case was about pesticide residues. Borewell water near farmland can carry pesticide traces, nitrates and other contaminants that RO alone may not fully remove if membranes are worn. Test source water at a notified NABL laboratory as the 2026 testing scheme requires, track membrane performance, and act on any drift before a regulatory sample does it for you.
4. Hygiene findings stack up
Inspectors did not stop at the cattle feed bran. Pest control, storage, segregation, personnel hygiene and premises maintenance were all listed. In a water plant, look at the filling room's positive pressure and UV, operator gowning and hand-washing, jar storage off the floor, pest-control records, and drain and floor condition. Individually these look minor; together they build the case that a unit is not under control.
5. A single complaint can start everything
The Priyagold inspection began with one consumer complaint. Water plants receive complaints about taste, particles, algae in jars and leaking caps. Keep a complaint register, investigate each one with batch numbers and retained samples, and keep retention samples of every batch for the shelf life. If an inspector arrives, a well-kept complaint file is your best evidence that the system works.
A quick self-check
- Are food-grade certificates on file for every preform, cap and chemical supplier?
- Are non-food chemicals stored and labelled separately from production material?
- Is every CIP cycle recorded, with a final-rinse check?
- Are monthly product tests and source-water tests done at an FSSAI-notified NABL lab?
- Do you have a complaint register and batch retention samples?
- Is your pest-control contract current, with service records?
If any answer is "no" or "not sure", fix it before the next annual inspection.
How ClearPath Compliance India can help
We help packaged drinking water plants prepare for FSSAI high-risk inspections and third-party audits, set up testing schedules and records, and handle licences, groundwater NOC and Pollution Control Board consent. If you want a pre-inspection review of your plant, send us your location and capacity, call +91 92521 92607, or message us on WhatsApp.
This article summarises news reports of FSSAI's announcement of 17 October 2026 for general information. The proceedings described are pending and no finding of guilt has been made. Company names are used only to identify the reported cases.
Sources: Business Standard, 17 October 2026; PTI reports carried by DT Next and Daily Excelsior.