Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (“FSSAI”) has on 4th February, 2019 released a draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2019 (“New Amendment Regulations”), proposing to amend Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
FSSAI had previously released a draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2018 where a new regulation 3.4 dealing with ‘Processing Aids’ had been proposed to be added in Chapter 3 which covers ‘Substances Added to Food’ and had asked for comments and suggestions from stakeholders. After considering the comments, they have come up with another draft which also proposes to insert provisions relating to Processing Aids and a new sub-regulation 3.4.2 has been added which deals with the different categories of processing aids.
[Processing aid means any substance or material, not including apparatus or utensils, and not consumed as a food ingredient by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or its ingredients, to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing and which may result in the non-intentional but unavoidable presence of residues or derivatives in the final product.]
Specifications relating to purity and identity Processing Aid, its acceptable daily intake, maximum permitted level, justifications for using processing aids are discussed in this new insertion. The different categories of Processing aid are enumerated, for example – generally permitted processing aid or Processing aid used in the manufacture of beer or malt beverages.
The processing aids listed in Tables 1 to 13* may be used in the course of manufacture of food specified in the corresponding table provided the final food contains no more than the corresponding residue level specified in the Table.
Objections and suggestions are invited for consideration till 6th March, 2019 at regulation.fssai.gov.in.
Source: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
