Through its notification dated 17 February 2015 the FSSAI has notified the changes that it has made in the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and labelling) Regulations, 2011. These changes have been made in labelling of nutritional content in foods in sub regulation 43 of regulation 2.4.5 (Under Specific Labelling Requirements of other products) and two additional regulations have been added namely sub-regulation 48 and 49. These changes will be effective once they are published in the Official Gazette and will be called the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and labelling) Amendment Regulations, 2015.
Earlier in sub-regulation 43 only packages of biscuits, breads and cakes were required to declare Oligofructose dietary fiber) —— gm/100 gm on the label. However, in the new Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and labelling) Amendment Regulations, 2015 the number of food products that have to mention Oligofructose on its label has increased. If the following products contain Oligofructose they have to mention it on the label: yoghurt, mousse, spreads, dairy based products like milk shakes, yoghurt drinks. Cheese, pudding, cream, ice-cream, frozen dessert like non-dairy ice, sorbet and fruit ice, frozen yoghurt, flakes and ready to eat dry breakfast cereals, chocolates and sweets and carbohydrate based and milk based sweets like halwa, mysore pak, boondi laddu, jalebi, khoya burfi, peda, gulab jamun, rasogolla and similar milk product based sweets sold by name and also cooked sausages, ham and meat spreads.
The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Regulation, 2015 has also specified with addition of sub – regulation 48 and 49 the names of additional nutrient content that needs to be mentioned on label declarations. According to the new sub-regulation 48 every package of fat spread, milk products, milk based fruit drink, fermented milk products, soy and rice drink, cheese products, yoghurt products, spice sauces, salad dressings, juices and nectars that contain plant stanol esters will now have to mention the following on their labels.
- Contains Plant Stanol Esters (as Plant Stanols)—gm/100 or 100ml
- Patients on cholesterol lowering medication should use the product under medical supervision
- May not be nutritionally appropriate for pregnant and lactating women and children under the age of five years
- CONSUMPTION OF MORE THAN 3g. PER DAY, TOTAL OF STEROL, STANOLS OR COMBINATION THEREOF SHALL BE AVOIDED
New sub-regulation 49 deals with Trehalose. Every package of the following food products have to mention “Contains Trehalose” biscuits, bread, cakes, breakfast cereals, carbonated water, thermally processed foods, fruit juices, fruit nectars, fruit beverages, jam, jelly, fruit cheese, marmalade, dairy based drinks, milk powder, carbohydrate based and milk product based sweets like gulabjamun, rosogolla, peda, khoyabarfi, macroni products, noodles, pasta, sweets and confectionery, candies and icings, savories and snacks, wherever trehalose is added must mention it on the label.
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