Through its direction of 2 August 2017, the FSSAI has operationalized the regulations related to revised standards for Milk and Milk Products and certain restriction on the sale of cream. All FBOs will need to follow these amended regulations as of 2 August 2017. The enforcement of these regulations shall commence only after regulations are finally notified in the Gazette of India.
The FSSAI has stated that the finalization of the standards took a long time because of the revision that was required in the existing milk and milk products standards so as to harmonize them with Codex Standards as well as the various practices that are prevalent on the domestic dairy sector. There was also a need to formulate new standards for some dairy products. Also, the FSSAI had to take into consideration a vast number of stakeholder comments which they received in response to the draft notification. However, the amendment regulations are now finalized and the dairy industry and dairy producers, as well as consumers, are all will be happy to know that the standards have become operational.
In the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on sales)
Regulations, 2011, in the regulation dealing with ‘Sale of certain admixtures prohibited’ the FSSAI has OMITTED the following from the regulation
Notwithstanding the provisions of cream which has not been prepared exclusively from milk or which contains less than 25 percent of milk fat.
In the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives)
Regulations, 2011, the FSSAI has OMITTED the following definitions Boiled milk, double toned milk, Flavoured milk, Full cream milk, MILK, Mixed milk, Milk products,
Pasteurisation, Recombined milk, Skimmed Milk, Sterilisation and Standardised milk and has made amendments to these definitions in the new standards under DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ANALOGUES.
The new operationalized standards for MILK has also undergone amendments and milk is defined as
- Species identified milk
- Mixed milk
- Full cream milk, standardized milk, toned milk, double toned milk and skimmed milk
The composition of milk will conform to the class of milk, the locality of state from where it comes, minimum milk fat and minimum milk solids non –fat (SNF).
- MILK must not contain any food additives
- Total urea content must not be more than 700 ppm.
Labeling specifics for pre-packaged milk
The label of pre-packaged milk as well as the container if milk is sold lose must have
- Class of milk
- Heat treatment
- ‘Raw Milk’ must be declared if no heat treatment has been given
- For ‘reconstituted’ or ‘recombined’ milk components need not be declared separately even if mentioned in ingredients
FSSAI has also made amendments to standards for the following products which includes their definition, raw materials, and composition, standard parameters, permitted ingredients and use of food additives and labeling changes
- Standards for Flavoured Milk
- Standards for Evaporated or Concentrated Milk
- A standard for Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Standard for Khoa
- A standard for Cream and Malai (this is extremely detailed)
- A standard for Milk Fat Products including anhydrous milk fat, anhydrous butter oil, butter oil and ghee and must be free from the added flavor, color, and preservatives. Additionally, for ghee, there is a requirement for Butyro- refractometer reading and Reichert Meissl value of ghee produced in the different States or Union territories.
- Standard for Butter
- A standard for Milk Powders and Cream Powder
- A standard for Dairy Whitener
- A standard for Whey Powder
- A standard for Fermented Milk Products like dahi, yogurt, Acidophilus Milk, chakka and shrikhand. Permitted ingredients are different for the different products.
- Standard for Ice Cream, Kulfi, Chocolate Ice Cream, Softy Ice-Cream, Milk Ice, Milk Lolly and Dried Ice Cream Mix
- A standard for Frozen Desserts or Confections with Added Vegetable Oil/ Fat or Vegetable Protein or both
- A standard for Chhana and Paneer
- A standard for Cheese and Cheese Products.
- A standard for Edible Casein Products
- Foods for infant nutrition like Infant Milk Substitutes, infant formula, Premature/Low birth weight infant milk substitutes, Lactose-free infant milk substitute, Hypoallergenic infant milk substitutes, Milk-cereal based complementary food, Processed cereal-based complementary food, Follow-Up Formula-Complementary Food
- Standards for Edible Lactose
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