India Revises the Regulations for Food Products Standards and Food Additives

The amendment newly included the definition and technical requirements for several food products, such as grapeseed oil, walnut kernels and yellow pea powder. The use of Alitame were removed from multiple food categories.

On July 30, 2021, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) unveiled the third amendment to Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations. Food business operators shall comply with all these new requirements from Feb. 1st, 2022.

The revisions can be summarized into the following four aspects.

The residue limits in oil products are clarified

The amendment clarified that oil obtained by expelled pressed method shall be free from hexane residues. This rule applies to groundnut oil, flaxseed or linseed oil, rapeseed oil (toria oil) or mustard oil, poppy seed oil, safflower seed oil, imported safflower seed oil and safflower seed oil (high oleic acid—imported or domestic), taramira oil, til oil, niger seed oil, soyabean oil, maize (corn) oil, watermelon seed oil, sunflower seed oil—high oleic acid, and avocado oil.

Food product standards are added/revised

The competent authority newly included the definition and technical requirements for several food products, including grapeseed oil, walnut kernels, yellow pea powder, dried sage, instant tea in solid form, decaffeinated roasted and ground coffee—chicory mixture. Besides, the product standards of some food categories were also optimized, involving soybean sauce, besan, maize starch, pepper, etc. For example, the minimum level of total soluble solids in soybean sauce (in a salt free basis) is changed from 25% to 15%.

Sweeteners are classified into two types

In the new version, sweeteners were classified as “Caloric sweeteners” and “Non–caloric sweeteners”. For per equivalent unit of sweetening capacity, if the substance has greater than 2% of the caloric value of sucrose, then it will be defined as caloric sweeteners, such as sorbitol and mannitol; otherwise, it will belong to non-caloric sweeteners, such as steviol glycoside.

The use of Alitame were removed

The competent authority removed the use of Alitame in multiple food categories, including dairy-based drinks—flavoured milk and/or fermented, Cocoa and chocolate products, chewing gum, etc.