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FSSAI issues draft notification for non-specified food, food ingredients
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Tuesday, 21 February, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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In a move that is expected to open up innovation in the food processing sector and allow the companies to expand their portfolios, the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a draft notification for non-specified food and food ingredients for pre-market approval.
Called Pre-market Approval for Non-Standardised Food Regulations 2017, these draft regulations will cover novel food or food containing novel ingredients not having a history of human consumption in the country, food ingredients with a history of human consumption in the country but not specified in any other regulation made under the Act, new additives and processing aids and food manufactured or processed with the use of novel technology.
The apex food regulator has asked the stakeholders to give their suggestions on the subject in a month’s time while calling this regulation an opportunity for food business operators (FBOs) to innovate new food products.
It is pertinent to mention here that FSSAI has discontinued the process of product approval for standard products and introduced regulations for proprietary food, health supplements and nutraceuticals, special dietary use food, food for medical purposes, functional foods and novel foods while releasing the list of approved ingredients.
However, some quarters of the food processing industry are not buying the opportunity remark. One industry representative said, on the condition of anonymity, that this was not a welcome move.
“It is just like that infamous advisory on proprietary food,” he said, adding that it appeared on the face that it was a backdoor entry for the product approval like the policy trashed by the Supreme Court order last year. He added that it would be opposed.
Meanwhile, the draft stated that an FBO will have to apply for approval for the products coming under these regulations in a prescribed format containing certain information, including the target group for the product.
The draft proposed labels for approval, that include a mention of the process of manufacturing in detail and positive and negative effects, amongst others.
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