Labeling must separate food product for medical purpose and special dietary use
Food safety commissioners across all States and Union Territories (UTs) must ensure strict compliance of labelling regulations for foods products that are sold for special medical purposes and foods for special dietary use, among others.
This was directed by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently to ensure that labelling enables the consumers to distinguish companies making food from the above mentioned categories from food products meant for normal consumption.
Many of these products are consumed by consumers that suffer from hypo-allergenic conditions such as lactose-intolerance or suffer from IEM disorders (Inborn Errors of metabolism) and proper labeling would help to identify products effectively.
FSSAI said that food products covered under these regulations are required to comply with general labelling norms under the Food Safety Act as well as additional labelling norms prescribed by the 2016 regulations. The label needs to specify the purpose, the target consumer group and the physiological or disease conditions which they address, recommended duration of use, among other such information.