On the 17 November 2020, the Food Safety Standard (FSS) Authority of India published the new FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 in the national official gazette. The new regulations will provide consumers with more information on products and clearer warnings of allergens, amongst other benefits. This update to the labelling regulations include the following provisions, which were not part of the previous labelling framework:

• Calculation of nutritional declaration and inclusion of sodium and total sugars values within the nutritional panel
• Positive list of food allergens alongside rules on their manner of presentation on the label
• Display of information in food service establishments
• Labelling requirements for business-to-business products and food additives for retail sale
• Reviewed list of warning statements
• Inclusion of ‘fortification logo’ and ‘organic logo’ under the labelling framework
• Introduction of mandatory declaration of ‘use by’ date instead of the ‘best before’ date

When do these new rules come into force?

Although the regulation was published in November 2020, the FFS have given Food Business Operators to the end of 2021 to prepare for the upcoming changes. From 1 January 2022, all food and beverage products on sale in India must comply with the updated regulations. 

What does this mean for the food and beverage industry in India?

The new rules will mean that food manufacturers will likely need to update the labelling of whole product ranges and possibly re-label existing stock so that it’s compliant.

How can Leatherhead help?

Leatherhead Food Research’s artwork compliance check service can help you ensure your labels are compliant with the new rules. Get in touch today on [email protected]. Remember, if you’re a Leatherhead Member you can use your Helpline hours for label support.

We also run regular training courses for food and beverage label compliance; International Food Law and Legal Labels and EU Food Law. Our courses are now being run online to allow flexible study for our delegates around the world. Find out more about our course dates here.