The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Second Amendment Regulations, 2022[1] (hereinafter referred to as “Amendment Regulations”) on October 11, 2022, further to amend the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. The Amendment Regulations shall come into force from May 1, 2023.
The said amendment has been passed in exercise of powers conferred under Section 92(2) (k) read along with Section 23 of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006. As per the stated provisions, FSSAI is empowered to make regulations in relation to the manner of marking and labelling of food products.
Amendments Introduced
In Schedule II of the above-referred Regulations, following amendments/additions have been introduced:
| Provision | Pre-Amendment | Post-Amendment | Comments |
| Schedule II Paragraph 1, sub-paragraph (3) | CHEWING OF PAN MASALA IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH
Note: This warning statement should be clearly legible/audible in advertisements related to Pan Masala. |
CHEWING OF PAN MASALA IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH
Note: The warning statement must cover 50% of front-of-pack of the label. |
The Amendment has been introduced to ensure the warning sign is clearly visible on the Pan Masala packet and does not go unnoticed by consumers. |
| Schedule II Paragraph 2, sub-paragraph (6) | No prior provision | Labelling standard for different types of breads have been incorporated. | The Amendment will bring clarity and uniformity regarding labelling standards for different types of breads. |
2.6 – Labelling of various types of bread
| S. No. | Name of Bread | Specialty Ingredient | Minimum amount of Specialty Ingredient as % of Flour |
| 1. | Whole Wheat Bread | Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) | Whole Wheat Flour should be at least 75% |
| 2. | Wheat Bread or Brown Bread | Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) | Whole Wheat Flour should be at least 50% |
| 3. | White Bread | Refined Wheat Flour (Maida) | – |
| 4. | Multigrain Bread | Food Grains permitted under FSS (Food Product Standards & Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 | Minimum 20% should be grains other than wheat |
| 5.
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
(f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k) (l) (m) (n)
(o) |
Specialty Bread | The Specialty ingredient that must be present in the product must be added as a prefix to the term “bread” on the label. | |
| Milk Bread | Milk Solids | 6% | |
| Honey Bread | Honey | 5% | |
| Cheese Bread | Cheese | 10% | |
| Oatmeal Bread | Oats | 15% | |
| Cracked Wheat/ Dhalia Bread | Cracked Wheat/ Dhalia | 15% | |
| Bread with wheat germ | Wheat germ | 2% | |
| Egg Bread | Edible Whole Egg solids | 1.5% | |
| Fruit bread or loaf | Candied Fruit | 10% | |
| Triticale bread | Triticale flour | 20% | |
| Rye Bread | Rye Flour | 20% | |
| Raisin Bread | Raisins | 10% | |
| Bran Bread | Edible Bran | 5% | |
| Protein enriched bread | Edible Protein | 15% Protein | |
| Bread such as garlic Bread, masala bread, oregano bread, etc. | Garlic, Oregano, etc. | 2% | |
| Bread with seeds such as flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc. | Flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc. | 5% | |
The Amendment Regulations, which shall come into force from May 1, 2023 will ensure that the warning sign mandated on the Pan Masala packet is clearly visible and does not go unnoticed by the consumers. Further, by laying down labelling standards for different types of breads, the Amendment will bring clarity and uniformity regarding labelling standards for different types of breads.
Regulations available at
[1]https://www.fssai.gov.in/upload/notifications/2022/10/6348f977d94a5Gazette_Notification_Labelling_14_10_2022.pdf