FSSAI Act and its Food safety initiatives

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, operating under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Its primary mandate is to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption across the country. FSSAI is responsible for framing science-based standards for food products and regulating their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import. It plays a central role in monitoring and supervising food safety, issuing licenses and registrations to food business operators (FBOs), and conducting food testing through recognized laboratories.

To strengthen India’s food safety ecosystem, FSSAI has launched several impactful initiatives. The Eat Right India movement encourages citizens to make healthier food choices and promotes sustainable eating habits. The Food Fortification initiative supports the addition of essential micronutrients (like iron, vitamin A, and iodine) to common foods such as salt, flour, oil, and milk to combat malnutrition. Under the Clean Street Food Hub program, FSSAI collaborates with local authorities to improve hygiene standards among street food vendors. The Safe and Nutritious Food (SNF) campaign targets workplaces, schools, and homes to raise awareness about food safety and hygiene. Another notable program is RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil), which encourages safe disposal and conversion of used oil into biodiesel to prevent health hazards. FSSAI also operates FoSCoS (Food Safety Compliance System), a digital platform for streamlining licensing, registration, and compliance processes. Through these initiatives, FSSAI continues to work toward building a healthier and safer food environment in India.


The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, operating under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Its primary mandate is to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption across the country. FSSAI is responsible for framing science-based standards for food products and regulating their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import. It plays a central role in monitoring and supervising food safety, issuing licenses and registrations to food business operators (FBOs), and conducting food testing through recognized laboratories.

To strengthen India’s food safety ecosystem, FSSAI has launched several impactful initiatives. The Eat Right India movement encourages citizens to make healthier food choices and promotes sustainable eating habits. The Food Fortification initiative supports the addition of essential micronutrients (like iron, vitamin A, and iodine) to common foods such as salt, flour, oil, and milk to combat malnutrition. Under the Clean Street Food Hub program.

1. FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA Er . Aarti Nimesh Assistant Professor Department of Food Technology

2. What is FSSAI ? Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)  is an autonomous body established under the  Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India . The FSSAI has been established under the  Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India. FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety. The FSSAI is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

3. Location of FSSAI offices FSSAI is located in 5 regions. Northern region- with head office at New Delhi Eastern region- Kolkata North Eastern region- Guwahati Western region- Mumbai Southern region- Cochin and Chennai New Delhi Kolkata Guwahati Mumbai Cochin Chennai

4. History FSSAI was established by Former Union Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss , Government of India on 5th September 2008 under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

5. Aim of FSSAI The FSSAI is responsible for setting standards for food so that there is one body to deal with and no confusion in the minds of consumers, traders, manufacturers, and investors. Lay down science-based standards for articles of food To regulate manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of food To facilitate food safety

6. FSSAI The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards , 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Departments. The FSSAI is responsible for setting standards for food so that there is one body to deal with and no confusion in the minds of consumers, traders, manufacturers, and investors.

7. The following are the statutory powers that the FSS Act, 2006 gives to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Framing of regulations to lay down food safety standards Laying down guidelines for accreditation of laboratories for food testing Providing scientific advice and technical support to the Central Government Contributing to the development of international technical standards in food Collecting and collating data regarding food consumption, contamination, emerging risks etc. Disseminating information and promoting awareness about food safety and nutrition in India

8. Highlights of Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 The Act aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi- level, multi- departmental control to a single line of command.

9. The FSS Act  The FSS Act took 8 older acts into one umbrella . Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 Fruit Products Order, 1955 Meat Food Products Order, 1973  Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947 Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1988 Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967 Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992 The FSS Act is a bucket for all the older laws, rules and regulations for food safety

10. FSSAI – Administrative structure  Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative Ministry of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The FSSAI is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India . The FSSAI consists of a chairperson & 22 members.   Ms. Punya Salila Srivastava is the current Chairperson for FSSAI and Sh. Kamala Vardhana Rao is the current Chief Executive Officer for FSSAI members.

11. FUNCTIONS

12. Departments Import Division International Co-operation Regulatory Compliance Division (RCD) Food Safety Management System (FSMS) Division Risk Assessment and R&D division (RARD) Information Education Communication (IEC) Division Regulation and Codex Division Quality Assurance/ lab Division HR Division Standards Division

13. Research and Quality assurance Research The Research and Development division is responsible for research with the following objectives: Generate new knowledge that would help in continuously updating and upgrading food safety standards which are compatible with international organizations Carry out evidence based studies for improving or building policies Quality Assurance FSSAI has been mandated to perform various functions related to quality and standards of food . These functions in addition to others include “Laying down procedure and guidelines for notification of the accredited laboratories 

14. FSSAI notified laboratories FSSAI notified laboratories that are classified as: FSSAI notified NABL (National accreditation board for testing and calibrating laboratories)  accredited labs- 112  State Labs-72 Referral Labs-14 

15. Standards Standards framed by FSSAI are prescribed under Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011 ( Food Product Standards and Food Additives, Packaging and Labelling, Contaminants,  Toxins , and Residues ). The FSSAI has prescribed standards for following food products : Dairy products and analogues  Fats, oils and fat emulsions Fruits and vegetable products Cereal and cereal products Meat and meat products Fish and fish products Sweets & confectionery Sweetening agents including honey Salt, spices, condiments and related products Beverages, (other than dairy and fruits & vegetables based) Other food product and ingredients Proprietary food Irradiation of food

16. Standards

17. Applicable FSSAI License FSSAI issues three types of license based on nature of food business and turnover: Registration:  For Turnover less than 12 Lakh State License : For Turnover between 12 Lakh to 20 Crore Central License : For Turnover above 20 Crore Other criteria like the location of the business, number of retail stores etc. is needed while evaluating the nature of license applicable.

18. Food products with FSSAI mark

19. Food products with FSSAI mark

20. Consumer outreach Consumers can connect to FSSAI through various channels or call Toll free Number 1800112100 . An online platform called ‘Food Safety Voice’ has been launched which helps consumers to register their complaints and feedbacks about food safety issues related to adulterated food, unsafe food, substandard food, labeling defects in food and misleading claims & advertisements related to various food products. 

21. FSSAI Initiatives

22. Eat Right India adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative and empowerment approaches to ensure that our food is good both for the people and the planet. Further, it builds on the collective action of all stakeholders - the government, food businesses, civil society organizations, experts and professionals, development agencies and citizens at large. Eat Right India is aligned to the National Health Policy 2017 with its focus on preventive and promotive healthcare and flagship programmes like Ayushman Bharat, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anaemia Mukt Bharat and Swachh Bharat Mission .  

23. Eat Safe:  Ensuring personal and surrounding hygiene, hygienic and sanitary practices through the food supply chain, combating adulteration, reducing toxins and contaminants in food and controlling food hazards in processing and manufacturing processes. KEY THEMES The Eat Right India is based on three key themes- Eat Safe, Eat Healthy, and Eat Sustainable.

24. Eat Healthy:  Promoting diet diversity and balanced diets, eliminating toxic industrial trans-fats from food, reducing consumption of salt, sugar and saturated fats and promoting large-scale fortification of staples to address micronutrient deficiencies.

25. Eat Sustainable:  Promote local and seasonal foods, prevent food loss and food waste, conserve water in food value chains, reduce use of chemicals in food production and presentation and use of safe and sustainable packaging.

26.  FSSAI had initiated the largest Food Safety Training & Certification ( FoSTaC ) programme in July, 2017. The FoSTaC programme is aimed at creating a pool of food safety supervisors (FSS), who are trained in good hygiene and manufacturing practices as per requirements in Schedule 4 of Food Safety and Standards Licensing and Registration Regulations, 2011. Objective: To enhance the availability of skilled/ trained manpower in the food industry. Creating an improved environment of self-compliance to FSS Act, Rules and Regulations by the responsible Food Businesses. Bringing a behavioural change and inculcating a culture of Food safety in the country.

27. DART Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) booklet is a compilation of common quick tests for detection of food adulterants at household by the citizens themselves so as to induce awareness among the consumers about food safety. DART covers more than 50 tests that can be performed easily at household with the help of water and simple solutions like tincture of iodine for food products like Milk & Milk Products, Oils & Fats, Sugar & Confectionary, Food Grains & its products, Spices & Condiments etc. These tests also include sensory evaluation tests for establishing authentication of food products. DART depicts the differences between pure and adulterated food product through pictorial representations.

28. In India, it is quite common to pay homage to God in the form of food as a part of religious rituals. Food offered is regarded as pure and sacred and these offerings are known as “Prasad” or “BHOG”. BHOG is an initiative taken by FSSAI under Eat Right India Scheme to encourage Places of Worship ( PoW ) to adopt and maintain food safety and hygiene as well as convey food safety messages through such places to the people to follow as responsible citizens. BHOG came up with the idea of converting Floral waste into useful materials such as: Production of Vermi -compost from temple waste to produce manure. All the waste can be collected in the dumping ground to produce organic fertilizer. Use of technology to prepare incense sticks from the waste flowers. From dehydrated flowers using foliage technology wall plates, artistic greeting cards, landscapes, etc. can be created. Eco-friendly dyeing of Cotton, Wool and Silk can be done using the temple waste flowers . BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God)

29. Fortification is the addition of key vitamins and minerals such as Iron, Iodine, Zinc, Vitamins A & D to staple foods such as rice, wheat, oil, milk and salt to improve their nutritional content. These nutrients may or may not have been originally present in the food before processing or may have been lost during processing. India has a very high burden of micronutrient deficiencies caused by Vitamin A, Iodine, Iron and Folic Acid leading to Night Blindness, Goitre , Anaemia and various birth defects. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) 58.4 percent of children (6-59 months) are anaemic 53.1 percent women in the reproductive age group are anaemic 35.7 percent of children under 5 are underweight FOOD FORTIFICATION

30. FORTIFIED MILK FORTIFIED RICE Fortified w ith Iron , Iodin e Fortified w ith Vitamin A Vitamin D Fortified w ith Vitamin A ,D Fortified w ith Vitamin B 12 ,Iron ,Folic Acid Fortified w ith Vitamin B 12 Iron ,Folic Acid