. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/764
11 July 2003
(03-3777)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   UNITED STATES
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:   U.S. Food and Drug Administration
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where
applicable):  ( HS 2201)  Bottled Water
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:
Trading partners who import bottled water for consumption in the United States.
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Beverages: Bottled
Water (direct final rule) and Beverages: Bottled Water; Companion Document to DirectFinal Rule (companion proposed rule) (10 pages each; available in English).
6. Description  of content:  On 9 June 2003, FDA published a Federal Register notice
confirming the effective date of 8 December 2003, for the direct final rule that FDA
published in the Federal Register on 3 March 2003.  The direct final rule amends the
bottled water quality standards regulations by establishing an allowable level for uranium.
The direct final rule also retains the exis ting allowable levels for combined radium-
226/228, gross alpha particle radioactivity, and beta particle and photon radioactivity.  This
direct final rule will ensure that the minimum quality of bottled water, as affected by
uranium, combined radium-226/228, gross alpha particle radioactivity, and beta particle
and photon radioactivity, remains comparable with the quality of public drinking water that
meets EPA's standards.
7. Objective and rationale:  [  X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection,
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or  disease, [   ] protect territory from other
damage from pests
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] Office International des Epizooties,
[   ] International Plant Prot ection Convention, [ X ] None
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:G/SPS/N/USA/764
Page 2
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   
Complete text for the Federal Register, 68 FR 34272-34273  notice confirming the effective
date can be found on the Internet at:  http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/03-
14477.pdf
Direct Final Rule contained in the Federa l Register (FR), 68 FR 9873-9882 (available in
English) can be found on the Internet at: http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/03-
4971.pdf
Companion Proposed Rule contained in the FR, 68 FR 9955-9964 (available in English) can
be found at:  http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/03-4972.pdf
10. Proposed date of adoption:  8 December 2003
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  8 December 2003
12. Final date for comments:
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification
authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:
For further information contact:
Paul South
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-306)
Food and Drug Administration
5100 Paint Branch Parkway
College Park
MD 20740-3835, 301-436-1640.
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notification authority,  [ X ] National enquiry point,
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Mr. William Janis
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Stop 1027Washington, DC  20250
Tel: (202) 720-9047, (202) 720-0677
E-mail: fstsd@usda.gov .
Complete text can be also be found on the internet:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/ohrms/index.cfm  by looking under DOCKET No.
03N-0068.