The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has officially notified the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) First Amendment Regulations, 2025. These regulations, set to come into force on February 1, 2026, introduce significant amendments to the 2011 Food Products Standards and Food Additives Regulations, covering new product definitions, updated specifications, and refined rules for food additives and processing aids.
The amendments follow a public consultation process that began with the draft’s publication on October 31, 2022, and subsequent consideration of objections and suggestions received from stakeholders.
Key Amendments Introduced
- Standard for Meat Sausages (New Addition):
- A comprehensive new standard for Meat Sausages (fresh or cooked) has been introduced.
- Definition: Sausages are defined as products made by stuffing minced meat (pork, poultry, or other food animals) and ingredients (fat/oil, salt, water, extenders, spices) into casings, marketed as fresh, fermented, cooked, or smoked.
- Quality Factors: Fresh sausages must be palatable, with pleasant flavor and attractive appearance, free from foreign odors, hair, bone particles, dirt, insects, or rodent contamination.
- Compositional Requirements: Finished products must adhere to minimum meat content (50% for fresh, 60% for cooked/smoked, 65% for dry/fermented) and maximum moisture (65% for fresh, 60% for cooked/smoked, 50% for dry/fermented) and total ash (3% for all) on a weight-by-weight basis.
- Preparation and Storage: Detailed procedures for mincing, emulsification, stuffing, linking, cooking (to 75°C internal temp for cooked sausages), cooling, chilling, and freezing (to -18°C or lower for frozen) are specified. Storage temperatures of 4°C for fresh/chilled and -18°C or lower for frozen sausages are mandated.
- Standard for Dehydrated Tarragon (New Addition):
- A new standard is introduced for both Dehydrated Tarragon, whole and Dehydrated Tarragon, powder.
- Definition: Derived from the dried leaves of Artemisia dracunculus Linnaeus, with specified color and requirements for being free from foreign matter, insects, pests, and other plant species.
- Compositional Requirements: Includes maximum limits for moisture content (10%), total ash (12%), acid-insoluble ash (1.5%), and minimum volatile oil content (0.6 ml/100g for whole, 0.5 ml/100g for powder), all on a dry basis.
- Chromatographic Requirements: The volatile oil must contain specific main constituents (cis-β-ocimene, trans-β-ocimene, transanethole, methylchavicol, methyleugenol) and not significant amounts of sabinene or elemicin.
- Amendments to Edible Oils Refractive Index:
- Minor adjustments have been made to the Refractive Index at specified temperatures for several edible oils (clauses 19, 20, 21, 29 in regulation 2.2.1), indicating updated quality parameters.
- Changes in Packaged Drinking Water Standards:
- Adjustments to permissible limits for certain characteristics in ‘Packaged Drinking Water (other than Mineral Water)’ in Table 2 and Table 3 of regulation 2.10.8 (e.g., changes to entries against serial numbers 5, 15, and 16).
- Revisions to Food Colours and Preparations:
- Omission of Specific Contaminant Notes: Notes stating that certain synthetic food colors (Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow, Erythrosine, Indigo Carmine, Ponceau 4R, Carmoisine, Brilliant Blue FCF, Fast Green FCF) must be free from specific heavy metals (mercury, copper, chromium), aromatic amines, nitro compounds, hydrocarbons, and cyanides have been omitted. This suggests these contaminants are now covered by broader Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulation, 2011, rather than individual colour specifications.
- Updated Standard for “Food Colour – Preparation and Mixtures”: A revised clause specifies that these preparations, containing one or more permitted food colours, must conform to prescribed standards and may include specific diluents or filler materials (a comprehensive list of 29 permitted diluents/fillers is provided). Requirements for solid and liquid preparations, and total dye content declarations on labels, are also detailed.
- Food Additives and Processing Aids (Appendix A & C):
- Steviol Glycosides: An entry related to the maximum level of Steviol glycosides in Beverages (Food category system 14.1.5) has been omitted.
- Bleaching/Washing Agents: The entry for hydrogen peroxide in bleaching/washing agents has been changed to “5 (as hydrogen peroxide)” in column (4).
- Enzymes from Genetically Modified Microorganisms (GMM): Several new enzymes derived from GMM have been added to Table 11A, including Phospholipase A2#, Lysophospholipase#, Lipase triacylglycerol#, Glucose Oxidase#, Serine endopeptidase#, and Chymosin#. Each entry specifies the production organism, donor organism, functional purpose, indicative food uses, and a maximum residual level of “GMP” (Good Manufacturing Practice). All new enzyme preparations must meet stringent criteria for lead, Salmonella, Total coliforms, E. coli, DNA, and antibiotic activity.
These amendments underscore FSSAI’s dynamic approach to food safety regulation, continuously updating standards to address new product categories, incorporate scientific advancements, and ensure the safety and quality of food products in India.