VIJAYAWADA: Excise and Prohibition Minister Kollu Ravindra has said the State government will introduce new standards and procedures to ensure the quality of liquor.
As many as 13 parameters will be introduced to test the blending, and extra-neutral alcohol and gas chromatography tests will be made available at the regional excise laboratories in Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Chittoor, Kurnool and Kakinada to ensure that all types of liquor is tested as per the guidelines and regulations of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
In an official release on Wednesday, Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra said the existing testing process, which is limited to testing only extra-neutral alcohol (ENA) based on six parameters, will be modernised and more quality parameters will be added.
Until now, regional excise laboratories used to test extra-neutral alcoholbased on basic parameters such as ethyl alcohol, acidity, aldehydes, methanol and water content.
Till now Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) used to be tested before bottling, and alcohol strength (percentage) was the only parameter. “From now onwards, the government will make comprehensive changes in the system, adopting advanced technology, and will conduct a few more tests to ensure the quality of liquor,” he explained
As part of modernisation of the system, 13 parameters have been set for testing ENA, and nine parameters for testing blended liquor such as whisky, brandy, vodka and gin before bottling. “The new quality standards will help prevent chemical reaction,” he added.