LABELLING PROVISIONS IN EXISTING FOOD LAWS
The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Under this Act every package of food shall carry a label giving the following information.
• The name, trade name or description of fond contained in the package.
• The names of ingredients used in the product in descending order of their composition by weight or
by volume as the case may be.
• In case both colour and flavours are used in the product, the label should mention.
• If gelatin is med as an ingredient, a declaration should be made using the words “gelatin- animal
origin”.
• A label should not contain any particular way, design, device, fic name or abbreviation which is false
or misleading in any particular way, concerning the food contained in the packaging or concerning
the quality or the nutritive value or in relation to the place or origin of the food.
• Labelling of pre-packed irradiated foods should be in accordance with the provisions of rule 32 and
42 of the food safety and standards Act.
• The package, label or advertisements of edible oils and fats should not use expression super-refined”,
“extra-refined’, ‘micro refined” “double refined’, ‘ultra refined’, ‘anti cholesterol”, “soothing to
heart’ or ‘saturate’ and ‘fat free”.
• The Act also makes it mandatory that labels should not use words implying recommend by medical
profession.
The edible oils should be packed in a container and marked and labelled in manner specified in the Act.
The container’s label should necessarily have the brand name, name and address of the packer,
description of contents, net mass/volume, batch number, month and year of manufacture.
Every manufacturer shall comply with the set requirements in regard to packing and labelling of
containers of fruit products.
This order regulates production, quality and distribution of raw and processed meat food products.
Labels of the containers should have:
• Name of the product, date of manufacture, net weight/volume, name and address of the manufacturer.
• Unauthorized use of words, pictures etc., showing imitation is prohibited.
• Every package which contains monosodium glutamate shall bear the label saying “This pack age
contains monosodium glutamate. Unfit for infants below 12 months”.
• List of any permitted preservatives and additives added.
• License number and category.
• List of poisonous metals such as lead, copper, arsenic, pesticides, sequestering and buffering agents.
It has to be ensured that no meat product shall contain MSG in excess of percent by weight.
The producers should comply with all packing and labelling requirements recommended under the order
Compulsory ‘Best Before’ date
• Government has made it mandatory with effect from July 1999 that all packed food items should
necessarily display ‘Best Before’ date.
• It has been made mandatory that every container of milk substitute or infant food or any label fixed
there to shall indicate in a clear conspicuous and easily readable manner an important notice which
reads, “Mother’s milk is best for babies” in capitals
Labelling genetically modified foods
• An international labelling standard for GM foods is being developed under the auspices of the Codex
Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL).
• In the Indian context in November 2000, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that genetically
engineered seeds and food would not be allowed into the country until their safety was scientifically
proved. Currently it is illegal to import, store, manufacture or sell by GM food in India.
Marketing the ‘Animal Origin’ foods
• Recently, the Government of India made a major amendment to the Food Safety and Standards Act
by introducing the labelling of vegetarian and non- Vegetarian foods.
• From October 4, 2001, it has become mandatory for all packaged foods containing ingredients of
animal origin to spot a brown triangle encased in a brown box. As now, milk and milk products, if
they are used as ingredients are exempted from this order. This rule would apply to pharmaceutical
companies, which produce biopharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements derived the animal
sources.
• For vegetarian foods, the label should have green dot encased in a green box.
