Non-edible ice to have blue colour to prevent use in foods,

Ice meant to be used only for industrial purposes would be marked with blue colour in Maharashtra, so as to prevent its use by food vendors or eateries.

The Food and Drug Administration has directed manufacturers to use blue colour to differentiate industrial ice from the edible one. A notification in this regard was issued on March 31.

"The step was taken after it came to our notice that as much as 70 per cent of ice used by food vendors is contaminated," an FDA official said.

Edible ice is considered as food under the FDA Act, and there are stringent provisions regarding the quality of water used to manufacture it. As to the industrial ice, used for various purposes such as preserving medicines, quality norms for the water are less strict, which makes it cheaper.

Roadside vendors were found to buy the cheaper industrial ice and use it in beverages, said the official.

"All stakeholders were consulted in order to come up with a solution...after which the administration came up with the idea of creating a visual differentiation between edible and non-edible ice," the notification stated.

Maharashtra is the first state to mandate such a differentiation.