Regulation of Quality and Safety of Vended Drinking Water

Abstract

Introduction: Providing the population with drinking water of guaranteed proper quality and safety is a priority. Vended drinking water has become popular among the general population and the network of water vending machines has grown significantly by now. Development of an independent regulatory and methodological framework for assessment of vended drinking water, the absence of which was acutely felt in previous years, makes the problem of analysis of vended water quality and safety even more urgent. Objective: To analyze regulation of quality and safety of vended drinking water. Materials and methods: The analysis of the current regulatory framework included a review of federal laws, technical regulations, sanitary norms, and state standards. Results: The concept of vended drinking water is absent in the main legislative acts. The existing legal acts are voluntary and advisory in nature, partially contradict each other, and fail to use all opportunities of the legislative framework. A sharp cut in the number of production control indicators does not allow assessment of the quality and safety of vended drinking water for compliance with the requirements of regulatory documents. Conclusions: The growing market of vended drinking water characterized by improved organoleptic properties requires the development of an effective and consistent regulatory framework for ensuring its quality and safety. This implies consolidation of the concept of vended drinking water either in the Technical Regulation of the Eurasian Economic Union on the safety of packaged/bottled water or in the federal law on water supply and sanitation, as well as in sanitary norms and rules.