The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has officially notified amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017, focusing on standardizing and accelerating the analysis of imported food samples.
The new rules, called the Food Safety and Standards (Import) First Amendment Regulations, 2025, will take effect on May 1, 2026.
Standardizing Analysis Methods
The amendment primarily updates Regulation 10 of the 2017 regulations, specifically changing the hierarchy for analytical testing methods used by food laboratories.
The revised Clause 4(b) of Regulation 10 stipulates that FSSAI’s manuals of method of analysis must be used for analyzing imported food articles. Crucially, it provides a clear set of internationally recognized alternatives if a method for analyzing a particular parameter is not available in the FSSAI manuals.
Food laboratories are now authorized to adopt a validated method of analysis prescribed by the following agencies:
- AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists)
- ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
- Pearson’s
- Jacob
- IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry)
- Food Chemicals CODEX
- BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)
- Codex Alimentarius
- Woodmen
- Winton-Winton
- Joslyn
- Any other internationally recognized regulatory agencies.
Accelerating Lab Reporting
The regulations also introduce a stringent time limit for laboratories to submit their findings.
The new Sub-regulation (5) mandates that the notified laboratory or referral laboratory must provide the laboratory analysis report (duly signed by its Food Analyst or Director) in FORM-2 within five days from the date the sample is received. This change is intended to speed up the clearance process for imported food consignments.
The draft regulations were initially published in October 2024, and the FSSAI considered the objections and suggestions received from the public before finalizing these amendments with the previous approval of the Central Government.