Packaged drinking water testing against IS 14543
IS 14543 governs packaged drinking water other than natural mineral water. It is stricter than IS 10500 in two ways that matter: several chemical limits are tighter, and the microbiological requirement is assessed on a 250 ml basis rather than 100 ml, with additional organisms that IS 10500 does not cover.
Key IS 14543 requirements
A partial list of the parameters most often queried on renewal submissions. The full schedule is longer; we quote against whichever scope your BIS submission requires.
| Parameter | Unit | Requirement | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| pH value | — | 6.5 – 8.5 | Physical |
| Turbidity | NTU | 1 (max 2) | Physical |
| Total dissolved solids | mg/L | 500 max | Physical |
| Total hardness (as CaCO₃) | mg/L | 300 max | Chemical |
| Chloride (as Cl) | mg/L | 200 max | Chemical |
| Nitrate (as NO₃) | mg/L | 45 max | Chemical |
| Fluoride (as F) | mg/L | 1.0 max | Chemical |
| Arsenic (as As) | mg/L | 0.01 max | Chemical |
| Lead (as Pb) | mg/L | 0.01 max | Chemical |
| Residual free chlorine | mg/L | 0.2 max | Chemical |
| Total coliforms | per 250 ml | Absent | Micro |
| E. coli | per 250 ml | Absent | Micro |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | per 250 ml | Absent | Micro |
| Salmonella and Shigella | per 250 ml | Absent | Micro |
| Yeast and mould | per 250 ml | Absent | Micro |
What to send us
Why renewals get queried
Most renewal queries we see are not chemistry failures. They are scope failures: the report covers IS 10500 parameters instead of the IS 14543 schedule, or it tests the treated water rather than the sealed retail pack, or the microbiological result is reported per 100 ml when the standard requires 250 ml. Send us the exact BIS requirement letter and the scope will match it.
Questions about this test
Can I use an IS 10500 report for my BIS licence?
No. Packaged drinking water is assessed against IS 14543, which has additional organisms and a different microbiological sample basis. An IS 10500 report will be rejected for this purpose even if every result is good.
Do you test the source water too?
We recommend it. Testing source, post-treatment and sealed pack together tells you whether a failure came in with the raw water or was introduced during filling — which is the difference between a treatment problem and a hygiene problem.
How often should a plant test?
Beyond licence requirements, most well-run plants run a short microbiological check on finished packs frequently and the full chemical schedule periodically. We will set a monitoring plan against your production volume.