Aluminium foil is the most common product used in every household kitchen for the purpose of food packaging and storing. As it is utilized by the common public to store and pack their everyday food items, it is important that the foil does not emit any harmful substance in the food. For this purpose, it is necessary that the aluminium foil is safe and of high quality, which does not affect the health of the consumers. For this reason, the Bureau of Indian standards has made it mandatory for certain products, including aluminium foil, to be certified with an ISI certificate before it is sold in India. BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil is certified as Indian Standard IS 15392.
What is a BIS ISI certificate?
BIS certificate or BIS ISI is a certificate that assures the quality and standard of a product as a guarantee to the customers, in accordance with the Indian Standards (IS). The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is a National Certification Body which works under the Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, food and public distribution.
BIS came into existence as an Act of Parliament in the year 1986. BIS, other than providing ISI certification, also works in conducting product tests, Hallmarking, providing certificates, calibration, etc.
The Bureau of Indian Standards provides ISI certification in India. The ISI certification provides an ISI mark to the product, which makes the product stand different and unique in terms of quality, standard, performance etc. than other similar products in the market. Although BIS ISI is a completely voluntary process, there are still certain products mandated by the government to get a BIS ISI certification. ISI mark is mandatory for certain products like Aluminium foil, pressure cookers, water heaters, cables, etc. The BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil is certified as Indian Standard IS-15392.
Conditions for BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil
- The BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil is certified as per Indian Standards- IS 15392. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry[1], in an order dated 13th February 2020, has made it mandatory for the Aluminium foil to get a BIS ISI certificate. The order has made certain decisions that have applied certain mandatory conditions in the use of Aluminium Foil. Those conditions are-
- The Aluminium Foils, which are manufactured for the purpose of sale in India (not for the purpose of export), have to be certified with Indian Standard IS 15392. The certification of BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil is provided by BIS or Bureau of Indian Standards under Scheme I of Schedule II of the BIS.
- The Bureau of Indian Standards shall be the Certification and enforcement authority to certify BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil.
- Aluminium foil is used in every modern kitchen to wrap and protect delicate food. If the quality of the foil gets bad, it can severely affect the health of the consumers. In order to safeguard the consumers from using bad quality aluminium foil, the Bureau of Indian Standards has made it mandatory for the Aluminium foil to obtain a BSI ISI certificate. According to the Aluminium Foil (QC) 2020 Order, the manufacturers must make sure that the Aluminium Foil is made as per Indian Standards IS 15392. There is a mandatory requirement for BIS ISI for Aluminium foil, as per the conditions of BIS.
Various Quality Tests Before Obtaining BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil
There are certain quality tests to be conducted before providing a BIS ISI for Aluminium foil. The tests conducted by BIS provide a guarantee of the quality, standard and reliability of the product. Following are the tests conducted by BIS for the quality check of the Aluminium foil-
- Material test
- Pinhole count test
- Test of lubricants
- Test of dimension
- Tensile property test
- Test of defects
- Test of surface condition
Requirements for BSI ISI for Aluminium Foil
The package of Aluminium foil should be properly marked with the Batch number, manufacturing date, material condition, manufacturer’s name, grade etc. It should contain an ISI mark to ensure the quality and standard of the foil are as per Indian Standard-15392. The ISI mark is obtained by the BIS after a series of quality and the standard test of the product and the manufacturing premise.
Documents required for obtaining BSI ISI for Aluminium Foil
There are certain documents that must be submitted by the manufacturer in order to obtain BIS ISI for aluminium foil. The documents are-
- Registration certificate of the company
- Receipt of the property tax
- Insurance policy of the company
- Rent agreement in case of a rented property
- Phone and electricity bill
- Bank statement
- Aadhar card of the Director
- Voter ID, Driving license
- Test report
- Complete list of manufacturing machines
- Copy of calibration certificate of testing equipment
Procedure to obtain BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil
The process to obtain a BIS ISI for aluminium foil are as follows-
- A product code has to be selected as per the directions of ISI. The manufacturer has to recognize the ISI standard code for the product.
- An application form must be filled out after choosing the relevant product code. All the required document along with the required fees for the purpose of certification and assessment of product and factory premises has to be submitted along with the application form.
- Assessment of the factory premises is done after submission of the application form. After submitting the form, the inspection team and the authorized person will visit the factory premise and assess the quality and standards. The product sample is also collected by the officer and is submitted to the BIS-approved laboratory for the purpose of product testing.
- After submission of the product, the test is then conducted by the Lab. The manufacturer has to collect the test report from the Lab and has to submit it to the BIS.
- After receiving the test report, BIS will check all the requirements as per Indian Standards IS- 15392 in the case of Aluminium foil. After the product is found to be complying with all the standards of BIS, a BIS ISI is issued to the manufacturer.
- Indian Standards IS- 15392 is the BIS ISI for Aluminium Foil.
Conclusion
BIS is a certification provided to the products manufactured in India in order to assure the quality, standard and reliability of the product before selling in the market. The certification is provided as an ISI mark, which is unique for all the different categories of products. There are certain products which the government has mandated to be sold with an ISI mark on them because of their common usage in the Indian household. The ISI mark is a symbol of trust and reliability and assures that the product can be used without any doubt for safety and health concerns.
Read our Article:An Overview of BIS ISI for Plastic & Glass Feeding Bottle
