The FSSAI had recently issued directions through its order dated 30 April 2019 the FSSAI regarding the extension of the time period for the usage of the term Wheat Flour (Atta) and Refined Wheat Flour (Maida) on the labels of the packaged food products. The FSSAI had also decided to replace the nomenclature Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) with Wheat Flour (Atta) Food Products
The FSSAI has since received reports that several Food Business Operators have already got packaging material that has been printed with the nomenclature Whole Wheat Flour (Atta). The FBOs had got these printed on the basis of the 1 February 2019 order which had asked FBOs to use the English nomenclature for Atta and Maida as
- Atta should be labelled as Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) wherever the same is used singly or as an ingredient in food items
- Maida Should be labelled as ‘Refined Wheat Flour’ whenever the same is used singly or as an ingredient in food items.
FSSAI has since received representations from the FBOs in this regard. Since FBOs have so much printed material with them FSSAI has decided that such FBOs shall be permitted to use the nomenclature Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) on their packaging material up to 31 December 2019. Any further extensions in this regard will be considered by the FSSAI on a case by case basis.
Whole wheat flour and wheat flour
In India, the wheat milling process is different from the rest of the world. Chakki Atta is normally a whole wheat flour that is ground in a small facility or by hand at home in a grinding stone. Whole wheat atta is made from the whole wheat berry which includes the grain, the bran, germ and the endosperm as well. On the other hand, wheat flour may not contain all the parts of the wheat berry especially when it is milled in a rolling mill facility.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply