Check Bottled Water, Juice and Soft Drinks for a PSQCA Licence in Pakistan

Short answer: PSQCA lists bottled drinking water, natural mineral water, carbonated drinks, fruit juices, squash and nectars on its compulsory items page. Search the bottle's brand on PSQCA's free licence tool at icq.psqca.com.pk, and keep the receipt if you doubt the batch.

Anyone who has waited at a bus stand in July knows the choice: an unfamiliar bottle at half the price, or nothing. People buy it. Most of the time nothing happens. The point of a licence check is the time it does not.

We read PSQCA's compulsory items page on 14 October 2026. This guide covers the drinks on it. We did not search any brand's licence today, so we do not say which brands hold one, and we did not test any water.

PSQCA lists bottled water and several drinks

The page names bottled drinking water, natural mineral water, carbonated beverages, orange juice, apple juice, concentrated fruit juice, fruit juices and nectars, and fruit squash. Each has its own standard number, shown in the table as published.

The difference between "bottled drinking water" and "natural mineral water" is in the standard, not the label colour. Ask which one the brand says it sells. A mineral water claim needs a different standard from plain treated water.

Water is the item to check first

Bad water harms faster than a bad biscuit. Dirty water carries the germs that cause cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. A licence check on a bottled water brand is a cheap first filter, and it works best alongside a look at the seal and the date.

Know the warning signs of a bad drink. If someone has three watery stools in a day after drinking from an unknown source, see the NIH steps in how to spot cholera and what to do. Dark urine and yellow eyes can point to liver infection from water, as explained in checking jaundice and dark urine for hepatitis A or E.

At home, boiling is still the safest fallback when you cannot trust the bottle or the tap.

Four steps check a drink brand's licence

Note the brand and the plant address printed on the bottle. Open PSQCA's licence tool, pick the product or type the maker, and read the status and valid up to columns. A Valid status and a future date are what you want. It needs no login.

1. Note the brand and the plant address printed on the bottle.
2. Open the CM License Verification page at icq.psqca.com.pk on your phone.
3. Pick the drink from the list, or type the maker's name, and search.
4. Check the brand matches your bottle and the valid up to date is in the future.

When we searched gas appliances on this tool on 2 October 2026, all records showed expired while some cable licences were valid. The tool can lag, so a blank result is a reason to ask, not proof the water is bad. The result is in our guide to checking a PSQCA licence.

Read the bottle and keep the receipt

Check that the cap seal is unbroken, the date is printed clearly, and the plant address is a real street. Avoid bottles that have sat in direct sun for days. Keep the receipt from any bulk purchase, such as a case for an event.

If you suspect a food product is unsafe, the Punjab Food Authority runs a testing service, with details in how to get food tested at a Punjab Food Authority lab. For what lab tests found in packaged oil, ghee and milk, see quality tests of packaged ghee, oil and milk.

If a shop charges above the printed price, the steps are in how to report overcharging in Punjab.

Think about storage as well as the brand. Cases stacked in a hot shop or left in a car for days can spoil even a licensed product. Look for cloudiness in water, floating bits in juice, or a bulging cap on a soft drink. If any of these show, do not drink it. Return it with the receipt and tell the shop why.

Children and older relatives are the most exposed to a bad bottle. If a family event needs forty bottles, buy from a known supplier with a delivery slip, not from the cheapest cart at the gate. A single phone call to the supplier about the licence takes two minutes and shows how seriously the seller takes the question.

Common questions

Is bottled water on the PSQCA compulsory list?

Yes. PSQCA lists bottled drinking water under PS 4639 and natural mineral water under PS 2102.

Are soft drinks covered?

Yes. PSQCA lists carbonated beverages under PS 1654.

Are fruit juices on the list?

Yes. PSQCA lists orange juice (PS 1738), apple juice (PS 1739), fruit juices and nectars (PS 4973-2009) and fruit squash (PS 506).

Is mineral water the same as bottled water?

No. PSQCA lists them under separate standards. Ask which one the brand claims on its label.

Does a licence prove my bottle is clean?

No. It shows the maker met a standard. Check the seal and date, and avoid a bottle that looks tampered with.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 14 October 2026, Pakistan time. We read PSQCA's list of compulsory items and the CM License Verification page. We could not read PSQCA's complaint pages. We did not search any brand licence today and we did not test any water.