Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, known as FSSAI, serves as the central regulatory authority for food safety across India. This organization is crucial in ensuring compliance with food safety standards, particularly emphasizing the integrity and safety of dairy products.

Important Events

FSSAI has been proactive in implementing critical regulations to enhance dairy product integrity. A significant initiative involves requiring cheese-like products to be labeled explicitly as cheese analogues to prevent their misrepresentation as authentic paneer. This decision followed the discovery that 83% of paneer samples failed safety tests, leading to the seizure and destruction of 550 kg of adulterated paneer by the Noida Food Safety Department.

FSSAI has also imposed fines on Heritage Foods Limited due to product quality issues. Its authority was challenged when the Delhi High Court limited its jurisdiction to human-centric regulations, prohibiting it from regulating animal feed. Notices were issued to companies such as Param Dairy Limited and Bikanervala to address hygiene and compliance concerns.

In another regulatory action, FSSAI prohibited Dabur India from using '100 percent' purity claims on its products, including cow ghee and honey, citing breaches in the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising & Claims) Regulations, 2018.

Company Plans

FSSAI is committed to enforcing stringent regulations to ensure consumer safety and sustain the integrity of food products. The organization is actively updating guidelines to tackle emerging food safety challenges and has launched a nationwide campaign against dairy fraud. This includes 'Food Safety on Wheels'—mobile testing laboratories deployed across Indian markets for rapid testing and promoting testing kits.

State food safety commissioners are mandated to undertake strict legal actions against violators. Independent milk producers and vendors are required to obtain a registration or food business license to enhance traceability in India's milk supply chain. Following an adulteration incident, mandatory licensing was enforced in the East Godavari district for dairy stakeholders.

FSSAI is also addressing digital misinformation about milk quality by initiating legal actions against social media influencers spreading false information. The organization is moving towards a 'Risk-Based Inspection' system to streamline inspections for compliant processors and tighten regulations on independent vendors. A notable operation intercepted unbranded and unrefrigerated tankers carrying suspected adulterated milk, with samples collected for laboratory analysis.

The authority continues its nationwide surveillance of milk quality, conducted in collaboration with State Food Safety Authorities to ensure compliance with safety standards. FSSAI regulates the standards for paneer production in India, mandating that paneer must be made solely from milk, without any added starch, non-dairy fats, or synthetic substances. As part of a broader regulatory push against analogue dairy products, FSSAI has instructed manufacturers and food service establishments to clearly disclose the use of non-dairy substitutes to consumers.

India’s food regulator is considering nationwide rules that would prohibit analogue paneer. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is examining a central regulation covering analogue paneer, according to its chief executive officer, Rajit Punhani. The national framework would address standards, labeling, and enforcement for these products across states. The regulator is preparing separate draft rules for foods containing high levels of fat, sugar, and salt.