LUCKNOW, Oct. 15 -- The state Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has made Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification mandatory for all packaged drinking and mineral water manufacturers. The regulatory tightening comes after statewide laboratory tests revealed that nearly 78% of collected water samples failed quality norms, with 176 samples declared outright unsafe for human consumption. Under an immediate directive issued by FSDA commissioner Roshan Jacob, no new manufacturing unit in UP will be granted a food safety licence or registration without first securing a BIS certificate.. For the state's 968 existing manufacturing units-including those operating in Uttar Pradesh under central licences - the department has set a strict compliance deadline of March 31, 2027. Units that fail to obtain BIS certification by the cutoff date will have their licences suspended and production halted until they achieve full compliance. The decision follows inspections of 811 packaged water manufacturing units over the past year. The department collected 660 samples, of which 176 were found unsafe for consumption and another 337 failed to meet prescribed quality standards. Together, the 513 unsafe or substandard samples accounted for nearly 78% of those tested, highlighting the extent of quality concerns identified during the inspections. Jacob said the decision had been taken under the relevant provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with public health as the primary consideration. She said the findings have brought the safety of packaged water into focus, particularly because consumers often rely on sealed bottles and jars as a reliable source of drinking water. The latest order seeks to make certification a mandatory condition for market entry and continued manufacturing, rather than relying solely on routine inspections and subsequent enforcement action. According to the FSDA, laboratory examination of unsafe samples detected microorganisms. Inspections also revealed shortcomings in the infrastructure and hygiene practices of several units. The FSDA has suspended the licences or registrations of 152 manufacturing units after inspections and laboratory tests revealed deficiencies. Production at affected units has been stopped pending necessary improvements and compliance with applicable requirements....