FSSAI: Food Business Operators Asked To Ensure Veg & Non-veg Disclosure On Labels

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has urged the food-producing industries and businesses to assign non-vegetarian labels on the food items comprising ingredients derived from animals, irrespective of the percentage present in the food item. 

An official said that the food industries and businesses are obliged to provide information and proper labeling on the food product as to whether the food product comes under the categorization of veg or non-veg.

FSSAI Regulations

As per the regulations of FSSAI, every packaging of the food products should mention whether the food is vegetarian or non-vegetarian as well as the information about the additives present in the food item. The packaging must contain this information in the form of symbols, labels, or color codes. 

The norms also direct that if the food item contains compound ingredients, then the specific names of all the ingredients used in making the compound ingredient must also be included on the food packaging. The companies can provide the above-mentioned information by listing them individually or mentioning them in brackets. As per another FSSAI regulation, if a compound ingredient constitutes in the making of a food item by less than 5%, then it does not need to be mentioned on the food item as long as it does not contribute to the technological function of the food. 

FSSAI clearly stated in its most recent order that the exclusion only applies to the declaration of sub-components. As a result, the declaration must be completed independently of the exemption clause.

Strict Enforcement of the Norms

The FSSAI has also instructed state food safety commissioners to help ensure strict adherence to the standards and to educate all packaged food manufacturers in their jurisdictions.