Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed the food business operators (FBOs) involved in manufacturing of health supplements and nutraceuticals, foods for special dietary use and for special medical purposes and functional and novel foods, governed under the Nutraceutical Regulation, to stop using 14 ingredients lacking scientific data for safe usage.
The directive by the country’s apex food regulator asked the FBOs to discontinue the use of raspberry ketone, slica, angelica sinensis, paullinia cupana, saw palmetto, notoginsing, chlorella growth factor, pine bark extracted to pinus radiate, pine bark extracted from pinus pinaster, Vitamin D3-veg, chaga extract, oxalobacter formigenes, phytavail iron and tea tree oil.
The directive added that FBOs were directed to discontinue the use of ingredients such as para amino benzoic acid (PABA), vanadium, prenolit and selenium dioxide, used for the product category under the Nutraceutical Regulations, with immediate effect.
The order also prohibited the use of D-ribose in health supplements and nutraceuticals, while for foods for special medical purpose and dietary use, approval from the authority was needed. Besides, the use of ipriflavone and polypodium leucotomos was also banned as they exhibited the properties of drugs.
FBOs were also asked to discontinue antichoke, kale powder, salvia hispanica, cashewfruit, passion fruit, kiwi fruit extracts, broccoli and enzymes, including pectinase and xylanase, as health supplements. However, their use in products was not prohibited, but FBOs cannot claim that the products are supplement or nutraceuticals.