Fortified food will now be governed under only one regulation taking away the duplicity of regulations being faced earlier.

In this regard, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has operationalised the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additive) Amendment Regulations, 2020, related to standards for fortified atta, maida, iodised salt and iron fortified iodised salt thereby removing the mentioning of fortified food in the said regulations.

According to the FSSAI, this was done to remove the duplicity in the regulations that govern the fortification of food products, as the FSSAI has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations in 2018 which prescribe and govern the standards for iodised salt, iron fortified iodised salt, fortified atta, and maida.

However, the standards for the same food products were also prescribed in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product and Food Additive Regulations) 2011.  

“To avoid duplication, a proposal for omission of these standards from the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product and Food Additive) Regulations was drafted and notified in April 2019. And, the final notification of these regulations will take more time. So, to avoid legal issues, it has been decided to operationalise the proposed notification prescribing the omission of clauses relating to standards for fortified atta, maida and salt from the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product and Food Additive Regulations) 2011,” said the order by FSSAI.

The order will come into force with immediate effect till the issuance of final notification in this regard.

According to a senior official with the FSSAI, several representations were received by the apex food regulator saying that due to duplication of standards they are facing legal action by state food safety authority as the two regulations are in variance with each other in respect of the level of fortification specified.

Now only the FSS (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2018, and the fortification limits prescribed under these regulations will govern the food products falling under the fortified category.