Food and Health E-ssentials

India’s FSSAI Modifies Food Advertising, Labelling Requirements

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has modified its regulations related to advertising and claims related to food products, as well as regulations dealing with the packaging and labelling of certain food products. 

In a “Direction” issued on June 28th, the FSSAI makes a number of changes to its Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claim) Regulations, 2018, including the following:

• For products claiming a reduction in disease risk, producers must specify the number of servings per day required to achieve that reduction;
• For products whose brand name or trade mark include adjectives such as “natural,” “fresh,” “pure,” “original,” “traditional,” “authentic,” “genuine” or “real,” producers must also include the statement “This is only a brand name or trademark and does not represent its true nature;”
• Details specific conditions for making claims regarding the non-addition sodium and salts to food products; 
• Details specific conditions for making claims regarding the non-addition of food additives; and
• Revises Schedule 1 of the Regulations on the specific conditions for claims regarding nutrient content. 

In a separate Direction also issued on June 28^th, the FSSAI modified its regulations regarding food labelling requirements for packages containing a mixture of edible oils. Specifically, that Direction requires producers to include on the label a declaration specifying the name and the nature of the blended edible vegetable oils contained in the package. 

The modifications as described in the Directions on food-related advertising and claims and food packaging and labelling take immediate effect, with actual enforcement of the requirements set to begin at the end of December. 

The text of FSSAI’s Directions can be downloaded from the FSSAI website here.