In its notification dated 17th December 2014, FSSAI mentions that it has extended the time period regarding the declaration of trans fat and saturated fat on the label. Food Business Operators now have more than one year until 31.12.2015 to comply with the provisions of the amendments in Food Food Saftey and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) regulations 2011.
Through an earlier notification, the FSSAI had first given the date for complying with the same up to 6th Decemeber 2013 was only for complying with the provisions in the amendments related to FSS (Packaging and Labelling) regulations 2011.
The following information about the declaration of Trans Fat & Saturated Fat were included as amendment to the FSS (Packaging & Labelling) Regulations, 2011
A) Edible vegetable oils, fats including hydrogenated vegetable oils, and processed and packaged foods with declared shelf life will have the following declaration on the label (See Regulation 2.2.2 – Labelling of Prepackaged Foods)
(i) Total trans fat content =…….percent by weight.
(ii) Total saturated fat content = …….percent by weight.
B) In ‘Specific Requirements/ Restrictions on Manner of Labelling’ & in the sub –regulation relating to ‘labelling of edible oils and fats.’ (See Clause 4 after sub – clause (b) of regulation 2.4.2)
(i) Trans fatty acids ………..percent by weight and
(ii) Saturated fatty acids…………percent by weight.
The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations 2011, as notified by the FSSAI, requires that nutritional value or Nutritional Information or nutritional facts be mentioned per 100 gm or 100ml or per serving of the product. It should be displayed as mentioned below.
- Energy value in kcal
- The amount of protein, carbohydrates (quantity of sugar) and fat in gram (g) or (ml)
- If a special claim is made regarding nutritional value or health benefit then the amount of other nutrients according to which the claim has been made should also be mentioned on the label.
If a claim is made about fatty acids, cholesterol, saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated then in addition to the other requirements mentioned above
- fatty acids claims should be mentioned in gram (g)
- cholesterol in milligram (mg)
- amount of trans fatty acid in gram (g)
In case of a health claim of ‘trans fat free’ can only be made wherein the trans fat is less than 0.2gm per serving of food and the claim ‘saturated fat free’ may be made in cases wherein the saturated fat does not exceed 0.1 gm per 100 gm or 100 ml of food.
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