India: Date of manufacture on glass bottles from July

CHENNAI: In the wake of increasing complaints that glass bottles were being reused rampantly and without the necessary sterilization, the All-India 
Glass Manufacturers Federation (AIGMF) has decided that all bottles will have the date of manufacture from July. The AIGMF has taken up the issue with the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Indian Medical Association and is awaiting their approval.

V Sreeram, general manager of Hindustan National Glass and Industries Limited and AIGF member, told TOI that the manufacturing period would be put on the bottle. The process is called traceability, he said. "If the bottle is manufactured in the first quarter of 2009 it will have a dot followed by 2009. A bottle can have upto four quarters."

Glass is eco-friendly but the public can now easily find out when the bottle was manufactured. "The AIGMF has decided not to recycle bottles used in the food and pharma industry. Urchins and others pick up the bottles which are then reused. We are planning to abolish this practice in the food and pharma industry where hygiene is top priority," Sreeram said.

T S Jaishankar of the Confederation of Indian Pharma said: "It is a good move and will ensure quality products but will ensure price control on manufacturers as the price of the end-product is controlled. Another aspect is whether the labelling will be done by the manufacturer? This is is impractical."

"Markings on bottles will help manufacturers ensure their products are packed safely in clean containers. Also, it will curtail illegal manufacture by reducing the usage of unaccounted packaging materials," said Sreeram.

He explained that in developed markets, glass packaging was a one-time phenomenon. But in India, the re-use of glass bottles was done for soft drinks, beer, liquor and even in food & beverages.