Food Safety and Standards Authority of India : Regulations and Standards

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, it consolidates multiple food laws into a single regulatory mechanism. FSSAI lays down science-based standards for food articles and regulates their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import across India.

Legislative Origin and Structural Framework

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 integrated eight older statutory orders and acts into a unified regulatory code to eliminate overlapping jurisdictions.

Repealed Acts and Orders

• Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
• Fruit Products Order, 1955
• Meat Food Products Order, 1973
• Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947
• Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1998
• Solvent Extracted Oil, De-oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967
• Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992
• Any other order issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 relating to food.

Organizational Composition

• The authority consists of a non-executive Chairperson appointed by the Central Government and 22 members.
• One-third of the total members must be women.
• The Chairperson holds the rank equivalent to a Secretary to the Government of India.
• The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) functions as the legal and administrative head and acts as the Member-Secretary to the Authority.
• The head office is located in New Delhi, supported by regional offices, import clearance offices, and notified referral laboratories across the country.

Key Functions and Mandates of FSSAI

Primary Statutory Responsibilities

• Formulate regulations and set safety limits for food additives, contaminants, pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, heavy metals, and microbiological parameters.
• Lay down accreditation mechanisms and certification guidelines for food testing laboratories.
• Provide scientific advice and technical assistance to the Central and State Governments in framing food safety policies.
• Collect and collate epidemiological data regarding dietary consumption, biological risks, and foodborne contaminants.
• Establish a nationwide rapid alert system to detect and respond to emergent food safety hazards.

Core Regulatory Divisions and Advisory Bodies

The formulation of food standards relies on a two-tier scientific structure constituted under Section 13 and Section 14 of the FSS Act, 2006.

Scientific Panels and Scientific Committee

• Scientific Panels: Specialized thematic groups consisting of independent scientific experts that evaluate risk profiles on specific subjects such as biological hazards, food additives, contaminants, pesticide residues, genetically modified organisms, and functional foods.
• Scientific Committee: The apex technical body that integrates and reviews recommendations from all individual Scientific Panels before submitting them to the Food Authority for statutory notification.

Key Standard-Setting Verticals

Mandatory Regulatory Frameworks and Standards

FSSAI enforces compliance through dedicated subordinate regulations notified under the FSS Act, 2006.

Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011

• Mandates that no person shall commence or carry on any food business without obtaining an FSSAI license or registration.
• Registration (Petty Food Business Operators): Applies to micro-scale vendors, hawkers, and temporary stallholders with an annual turnover up to Rs. 12 lakh.
• State License: Mandatory for medium-sized food business operators (FBOs) with an annual turnover between Rs. 12 lakh and Rs. 20 crore.
• Central License: Required for large-scale manufacturers, 100% export-oriented units, importers, operators in central government premises (such as railways and airports), and businesses with an annual turnover exceeding Rs. 20 crore.
• All licensed packages must carry a 14-digit FSSAI License Number along with the standard logo.

Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations

• Dietary Identifiers: Green dot inside a green square indicates vegetarian food; brown dot inside a brown square indicates non-vegetarian food.
• Nutritional Information: Labels must declare energy (kcal), protein, carbohydrates, total sugars, added sugars, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium per 100g/100ml or per single serving.
• Mandatory Declarations: Name of the food, ingredient list, date of manufacture or packaging, “Best Before” or “Use By” date, lot/batch identification, net quantity, and country of origin for imported goods.
• Allergen Warnings: Manufacturers must declare common allergens including gluten, crustaceans, milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, tree nuts, and soybeans.

Limits on Harmful Additives and Industrial Trans Fats

• India aligned its trans fat limits with World Health Organization (WHO) benchmarks, capping industrial trans fatty acids (TFA) at 2% by weight in all fats and oils.
• Prohibits the use of potassium bromate as a flour treatment agent in bakery products due to carcinogenic risks.
• Regulates artificial ripening agents, prohibiting Calcium Carbide (acetylene gas) while permitting ethylene gas up to 100 ppm for controlled fruit ripening.

Major Initiatives, Systems, and Quality Marks

Key Digital Portals and Schemes

Public Campaigns and Quality Certifications

• Eat Right India Movement: National campaign built on three pillars—Eat Safe, Eat Healthy, and Eat Sustainable—to encourage dietary shifts.
• Eat Right Station Certification: Awarded to railway stations that meet food safety and hygiene protocols; audited by empaneled third-party agencies.
• Clean Street Food Hub: Certification granted to organized street food clusters complying with sanitary benchmarks.
• BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God): Initiative to encourage places of worship to adopt safety protocols for preparing prasad.
• State Food Safety Index (SFSI): Annual performance index evaluating States and Union Territories across five parameters: Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing Infrastructure, Training and Capacity Building, and Consumer Empowerment.

Fortification Standards: The +F Logo

To address micronutrient malnutrition and hidden hunger, FSSAI notified the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations.

Fortified Commodities and Target Nutrients

• Edible Oil and Milk: Fortified with Vitamin A (retinol) and Vitamin D (cholecalciferol/ergocalciferol).
• Wheat Flour (Atta) and Maida: Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12.
• Rice: Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12 using Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK).
• Double Fortified Salt (DFS): Fortified with Iodine and Iron to control goiter and anemia simultaneously.
• Products complying with these fortification thresholds display the blue +F logo on their packaging.

Key Facts

• FSSAI functions under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, not the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
• The statutory foundation of FSSAI rests on the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which came into full force in 2011.
• The Chairperson of FSSAI is appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of a Cabinet Selection Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
• Section 22 of the FSS Act explicitly covers genetically modified (GM) foods, nutraceuticals, dietary supplements, and proprietary foods.
• The Central Advisory Committee (CAC) ensures coordination between FSSAI, state enforcement directorates, and trade organizations.
• The maximum permissible limit of industrial trans fats in all foods in India is 2% by weight of total oils and fats.
• Under the FSS Act, food adulteration causing death carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than Rs. 10 lakh.
• The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 created specialized Food Safety Appellate Tribunals headed by District Judges to hear appeals against orders passed by Adjudicating Officers.