The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued Gazette Notification on Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Amendment Regulations, 2020, to prohibit blending in Mustard Oil and renaming of blended oil to multi sourced edible vegetable oil.

Called the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Third Amendment Regulations, 2021, it will come into force on June 8, 2021, says the notification.

The amendment is related to the sale of certain admixtures that are prohibited. The FSSAI proposed that in the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, in Regulation 2.1 relating to ?Sale of certain admixtures prohibited, in Sub-regulation 2.1.1, a new clause is added for prohibition of the multi sourced vegetable containing mustard oil.

According to the FSSAI, after the amended regulations coming into force, notwithstanding the provisions of 2.7 of labelling and packaging regulations no person shall either by himself or by any servant or agent sell - ‘Any Multi source edible vegetable oil containing Mustard Oil manufactured on or after 8th June, 2021’.

Last year in October, the FSSAI had issued an order in this regard after it was directed by the Union Government to ensure purity of mustard oil. The order was later stayed by the Delhi High Court on a petition of a FBO and consequently FSSAI issued a draft on these regulations. 

Meanwhile, the amendment also proposes that in Regulation 2.3 relating to ?Prohibition and Restriction on sale of certain products, in Sub-regulation 2.3.14, (related to restriction relating to condition for sale ) the FSSAI has changed the word ‘blended vegetable oil’ with ‘multi source edible vegetable oil’ in Clause 11. 

Now, under 2.3.14, the amended Clause 11 reads, “The Multi Source Edible Vegetable Oil shall not be sold in loose form. It shall be sold in a sealed package weighing not more than 15 Kilograms. The container having Multi Source Edible Vegetable Oil shall be tamper proof. It shall also not be sold under the common or generic name of the oil used in the blend but shall be sold as – Multi Source Edible Vegetable Oil. The sealed package shall be sold or offered for sale only under AGMARK certification mark bearing the label declarations as provided in the Regulations besides other labelling requirements under the Regulation.”