From June 2019
Advertising and claims in India
On 19 November 2018, to protect consumer interests, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published the “Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations 2018”. Legislation relating to claims did not exist in India up until that point and in the past food businesses had to seek prior approval from FSSAI for using claims on their products.
The new regulations establish a list of permitted claims and the criteria for their use which food business operators may make on their products without seeking prior approval from the food regulator. However, other claims which are not laid down in the legislation would still require approval from the food regulator and be substantiated by scientific evidence.
More specifically these regulations provide definitions, general principles and rules for the use of nutrition claims (including nutrient content claims or nutrient comparative claims), free-from claims (including noadded sugars, sodium salts and additives), rules for health claims, claims related to dietary guidelines or healthy diets, conditional claims, prohibited claims, procedures for approval of claims and procedures for resolving non-compliances.
These new regulations are due to enter into force on 1 July 2019 and any person and/or organisation which is found to be in breach of its rules will be penalised with a fine.
Contact: Xiangwen He (Sharon)
+44(0)1737 824204
sharon.he@campdenbri.co.uk