FSSAI approves amendments to streamline food safety and standards regulations

In a move that would facilitate ease of doing business through the concept of ‘One Nation, One Commodity, One Regulator,’ the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in its 43rd meeting held recently in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Health Secretary, Shri Apurva Chandra, it approved various amendments to streamline food safety and standards regulations.

Various amendments across different Food Safety and Standards Regulations were approved in the meeting to do away with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) or AGMARK certification for food products. After the amendments are finalized, food businesses would not have to go to different authorities for mandatory accreditation, with only FSSAI certification being made compulsory for food products.

Other approvals include standards of Mead (Honey wine) and Alcoholic Ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, revision of standards of milk fat products, standards for Haleem, etc.

The Food Authority also approved a first-of-its-kind and comprehensive manual of analysis methods for ensuring regulatory compliance with food products.

The amendments across different Food Safety and Standards Regulations were approved in the meeting for draft notification to invite stakeholder comments before finalization. These regulations included revising standards for milk fat products, as part of which the fatty acid requirements for ghee will also apply to other milk fat products.

The Food Authority will also set standards for ‘Haleem’ as part of standards for meat products. Haleem is a dish made of meat, pulses, grains and other ingredients, which currently don’t have any set standards.

G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, chief executive officer, FSSAI; officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; States and Union Territories attended the meeting. Representatives from industry associations, consumer organizations, research institutes, and farmers’ organizations were also present at the conference.