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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has divided the ‘Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011’ into two (02) separate regulations: Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 and Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations. On December 14, 2020, a new regulation, named ‘Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations, 2020’ was published in the Official Gazette.
The regulations prescribe the labeling requirements of pre-packed foods and display essential information about premises where food is manufactured, processed, served, and stored.
Food Business Operator (FBO) shall comply with all the provisions of these regulations except chapter 3, to which the Food Business Operator (FBO) shall comply by July 01, 2022.
Below are the highlights of the update:
- Non-veg symbol is changed as described below:
The new symbol shall consist of a brown color-filled triangle inside a square with a brown outline having sides not less than the minimum size specified in the regulation. - Food materials that are not intended for human consumption have to be indicated as below:
- Nutritional information per 100g or 100ml or per single consumption pack of the product and per serve percentage (%) contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) are calculated based on 2000 kcal energy, 67 g total fat, 22 g saturated fat, 2 g trans-fat, 50 g added sugar and 2000 mg of sodium (5 g salt). This is the requirement for an average adult per day to be mandatorily given on the label.
RDA is mandatory to be displayed on the label.
- Salt as sodium was not mandatory to be declared on the label earlier. However, it is mandatory as per the new regulation.
- Every food to which a flavoring agent is added in accordance with Regulation 3.3.1(1) of Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, shall be declared in the list of ingredients.
- The common name of flavor should be declared for artificial flavorings, whereas, for natural or nature-identical flavorings, the class name of flavors shall be declared.
- “Date of manufacture or packaging” and “Expiry/Use by” shall be declared on the label. However, the expression “Best before” may also be used as optional or additional information.
- The FSSAI logo and license number under the Act shall be displayed on the label of the food package in contrast color to the background, as provided below:
- The following foods and ingredients which are known to cause allergy shall be declared separately as they contain............................ (Name of the allergy-causing ingredients).
- Declaration regarding Food allergen: foods and ingredients, which are known to cause allergy, shall be declared separately as they contain............................ (Name of the allergy-causing ingredients).
- However, this declaration is not required in the case of oils and distilled alcoholic beverages derived from these ingredients and where the product itself is a food allergen.
- The height of any numeral and letter to be displayed on the principal display panel has also been recently amended by the FSSAI.
- Some new logos were established to identify foods with different categories, such as:
For Fortified Foods
For Organic Foods
