As many as 19 items of daily use including baby food, bread, biscuits, tea, edible oils, coffee, non-soapy detergents, wheat flour, toilet soaps, mineral water and cements will have to mandatorily sold in specified standardized packages from today, as per an order issued by the central government.
The order has been issued following an amendment to the Legal Meteorological (packaged commodities) Rules, 2011 in June this year by the department of consumer affairs.
As per the amendments, selling the specified 19 items of daily use in loose forms or non-standarsied packages will be illegal from November 1, 2012. (see chart)
| Serial Number | Commodities |
| 1 | Baby food |
| 2 | Weaning Food |
| 3 | Biscuits |
| 4 | Bread including brown bread, but buns are excluded |
| 5 | Uncanned packages of butter & margarine |
| 6 | Cereals & pulses |
| 7 | Coffee |
| 8 | Tea |
| 9 | Materials which may constitute as beverages |
| 10 | Edible oils, vanaspati, ghee & butter oil |
| 11 | Milk Powder |
| 12 | Non-soapy detergent powder |
| 13 | Rice (powdered), flour, atta, rawa & suji |
| 14 | Salt |
| 15 | Soaps (a) laundry soaps (b) non-soapy detergent cakes (c) toilet soaps including all kinds of bath soaps |
| 16 | Aerated soft drinks, non alcoholic beverages |
| 17 | Mineral weater, drinking water |
| 18 | Cement in bags |
| 19 | Paints, varnish, etc |
According to a statement issued by the department of consumer affairs, non-standard packs which have already been manufactured and are ready for sale in different retail outlets across the country before October 31, 2012 will be exempted from the official order. “All states and union territories have been asked to ensure strict compliance with the official order,” the statement said.