Panel mulls major changes in food safety rules

New Delhi: India's Food Safety and Standards Act may be amended after an expert committee suggested sweeping reforms in the process of granting licences to food product manufacturers.

The move coincides with the Maggi row which has put under limelight the role of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in regulating the food sector and the level of compliance by FMCG companies.

Constituted in December 2014, the expert committee reviewed the FSS Act and has recently submitted its final report to the Health Ministry.

What may come as a major relief for the Food Business Operators (FBOs), the committee suggested easy and faster product approvals. If license is not issued within two months from the date of making the application or in case the application is not rejected, the company will be allowed to commence business, it said.

After the Maggi controversy, the product recall procedure and provisions have been questioned by the companies as the FSS Act has no provision for recall. Although the draft product recall regulation has been put on public domain for stakeholders comments, the committee has recommended that the food business operators are allowed to recall the food product from the market in case they have reasons for the food manufactured and distributed in unsafe.

Amendments in packaging and labeling have been another recurring consideration taken by FSSAI. The committee has suggested that industries should be given time to implement the changes and amendments in the rules for labeling and packaging should not be implemented with immediate effect as it leads to loss of the already distributed consignments in the market.

Shifting the onus of misbranding and mislabeling solely on the manufacturers and marketer and importers, the report suggests that retailers and sellers cannot be held liable for any damage to public health.

In an attempt to promote exports, the committee has recommended introduction of requisite provision in the Act or in Regulations, given the fact that the Act does not have one.