DINAMALAR NEWS

Exemptions from Food labelling requirements under FSS Act : Module 15

Exemptions from Food labelling requirements

The FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations indicates certain cases where one or more of the mandatory information required to be given on the labels such as list of ingredients, Lot Number or Batch Number or Code Number, nutritional information, the ‘date of manufacture’ or ‘best before date’ or ‘expiry date’ and instructions for use, need not be given on the labels. Such cases are as given below:-

15.1 If the surface area of the package is not more than 100 square centimeters, the label declaration such as ;

• list of ingredients,
• Lot Number or Batch Number or Code Number,
• Nutritional information and 
• Instructions for use, need not be given on the labels . but this information shall be given on the wholesale packages or multi piece packages, as the case may be.

15.2 If the surface area of the package is less than 30 square centimeters, the label declaration; such as ;-

• list of ingredients,
• Lot Number or Batch Number or Code Number, 
• Nutritional information 
• The ‘date of manufacture’ or ‘best before date’ or ‘expiry date’ and
• Instructions for use, need not be given on the labels, but these information shall be given on the wholesale packages or multi-piece packages, as the case may be;

15.3 In case of liquid products marketed in bottles and the bottle is intended to be reused for refilling, the declaration such as ;

(i) list of ingredients need not be given on the label . If the glass bottles have been manufactured after March 19, 2009,then the list of ingredients and nutritional information are required to be given on the bottle.

15.4 In case of food with shelf-life of not more than seven days, the label declaration such as;

(i) The ‘date of manufacture’; need not to be mentioned on the label of packaged food articles, but the ‘use by date’ is required to be mentioned on the label by the manufacturer or packer.

15.5 On the wholesale packages the label declaration such as;

1. List of ingredients. 
2. Date of manufacture/ packing,
3. Best before or expiry date
4. Labelling of irradiated food and , 
5. Vegetarian logo/non vegetarian logo, need not to be given on the label.

The exceptions here only apply in certain situations and cases. The food business operators should take very serious note of the points discussed here in this module otherwise there may be a chance of breach of the mandatory guidelines issued for food labelling.

Get ISI-mark products tested for quality

The next time you are worried about whether it is safe to drink packaged water of a particular brand or if the newly purchased electronic iron box is durable, you could actually get it tested for quality.

The Bureau of Indian Standards, Southern Regional Office, has launched a facility for consumers to get samples of various products affixed with the ISI mark tested. From thermometers, electric home appliances including water heaters and toasters to iodised salt and milk powder, consumers can get any ISI-certified product tested.

Until now, BIS had been testing the samples either at the manufacturing point to provide licences or conducting surprise checks to detect any misuse of the ISI mark.

Several people and consumer activists welcomed the move. “I am glad that I can now get a home appliance tested. This will help choose branded products better. BIS should also guide us on further steps to get them replaced,” said S.Bhuvana, a resident of Ashok Nagar.

Officials of BIS said that there are over 19,000 standards for various products. Of these, BIS has made ISI certification mandatory for 90 products. Consumers may submit the products on working days and get them tested at the BIS office on CIT campus, Fourth Cross Road, Taramani.

They can contact 22541442/22542519 or mail sro@bis.org.in for any clarification.

The charges and time needed for the results will vary according to the products. For instance, the charges to test certain parameters of packaged drinking water or a pressure cooker would be around Rs. 2,000. If the sample is found to be faulty, the charges would be reimbursed, officials said.

R. Desikan of Consumer Association of India said BIS must charge reasonably and provide the results faster to encourage more consumers to use the facility.

HC put stay on FSSAI amendment to increase the level of caffiene in energy drinks

The Bombay High Court granted the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) a three-week deadline to reply to its notification after the country’s apex food regulator amended the existing regulations to permit companies manufacturing energy drinks, such as Red Bull, to increase their caffeine content beyond the stipulated limit. There were two hearings of a public interest litigation to this effect in the High Court recently, and as FSSAI failed to reply to its notification, the amendment was stayed.

Petitioner Yajurvedi Rao filed a right to information (RTI) application seeking information about the increased caffeine content in Red Bull. As per the information he obtained, samples of the energy drink were seized in 2009 by officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra, and these were found to contain over 200mg caffeine per litre, which was higher than the prescribed limit. Moreover, it stated that Alibaug judicial magistrate had ordered that the seized samples be destroyed.

Anjali Purav, Rao’s advocate, said, “When FSSAI amended the existing regulations to permit energy drink makers, such as Red Bull, to add caffeine beyond the prescribed limits, Rao filed an PIL against the regulator, pointing out that they did so without evaluating the risk to consumers’ health. While the existing regulations stipulated that the prescribed caffeine limit in energy drinks was 145mg per litre, the amended regulations stipulate that caffeinated beverages should contain not less than 145mg caffeine per litre and not more than 320mg per litre.” 

“Through the new amendments the authority proposed to make caffeinated beverages an additional category to those provided in the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006. It also undertook the said exercise for the purpose of permitting companies to sell beverages containing caffeine. The most prominent of these was Red Bull,” she added. This information was given to the bench comprising Justices V M Kanade and G S Kulkarni. Purav urged them to restrain the regulator from doing so.

Purav warned that the consumption of caffeine in excess of the prescribed limit could be dangerous. The advocate stated, “Caffeine, being a stimulant, could have an adverse effect on all parts of the body. And that is the reason the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India should refrain from permitting companies manufacturing caffeinated beverages to increase it beyond the stipulated limit. Moreover, in India, there is no supervision to keep the sale and consumption of these beverages in check.”

பறக்கும் படை சோதனையில் 800 கிலோ குட்கா, 500 கிலோ கலப்பட டீத்தூள் பறிமுதல்

சென்னை, ஏப். 3: 

தேர்தல் பறக்கும் படை அதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிகள் நடத்திய சோதனையில், 800 கிலோ குட்கா, 500 கிலோ கலப்பட டீத்தூள் பறிமுதல் செய்யப்பட்டது. 

சவுகார்பேட்டை, வரதப்ப முதலி தெருவில், தமிழக அரசால் தடை செய்யப்பட்ட குட்கா பொருட்கள் பதுக்கி விற்பனை செய்வதாக, உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிகளுக்கு புகார்கள் வந்தன. அதன்பேரில், உணவு பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிகள், கடந்த 30ம் தேதி, அப்பகுதியில் சோதனை நடத்தினர். அப்போது, ஆறுமுகம் என்பவரின் குடோனில், பான்பராக், ஹன்ஸ் உள்ளிட்ட 700 கிலோ புகையிலை பொருட்கள் பதுக்கி வைத்திருந்தது தெரிந்தது. அவற்றை பறிமுதல் செய்தனர். இதன் மதிப்பு ரூ.3 லட்சம் என தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. 

நேற்று முன்தினம், பெரம்பூர் மேல்பட்டி பொன்னப்பன் தெருவில், தேர்தல் பறக்கும்படை அதிகாரி தேவன் தலைமையிலான அதிகாரிகள் வாகன சோதனையில் ஈடுபட்டனர். அப்போது, அவ்வழியாக வந்த காரை மடக்கி சோதனையிட்டனர். அதில், 500 கிலோ கலப்பட டீத்தூள் இருப்பது தெரிந்தது. அவற்றை அதிகாரிகள் பறிமுதல் செய்தனர். 

இதேபோல், எம்.கே.பி நகர் மத்திய நிழற்சாலையில், தேர்தல் பறக்கும் படையினர் நேற்று சோதனை மேற்கொண்டனர். அப்போது, அவ்வழியாக வந்த காரை மடக்கி சோதனை செய்ததில், 100 கிலோ மதிப்புள்ள தடை செய்யப்பட்ட புகையிலை பொருள்கள் இருப்பது தெரிந்தது. அவற்றை பறிமுதல் செய்தனர். கைப்பற்றப்பட்ட புகையிலை பொருட்கள் மற்றும் கலப்பட டீத்தூளை கொடுங்கையூர் குப்பை கிடங்கில் குழி தோண்டி அழிக்கப்பட்டது.