Chapter 29 - Regulations on nutraceuticals, functional foods, and dietary supplements in India

Abstract

The Indian food market is going through a paradigm shift with growing health awareness and improved Food Standards and Safety Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations. Coupled with a rich history of traditional medicine, foods in various forms are being accepted by consumers to improved health or prevent ailments. To reassure consumers, it was necessary to address concerns about intentional adulteration, contamination, misleading claims, and spurious products on the market. This led to the emergence of a science-based safety culture for foods, especially supplements, to ensure a risk-based approach to food safety and the protection of consumers and to build the capacity to achieve global excellence in food safety. The Food Safety and Standards Regulations require businesses to be compliance-ready. In the initial stages, stakeholders may face uncertainty about compliance requirements and require guidance. The 2016 FSSAI regulations and amendments brought more clarity to stakeholders; one point is the regulation to seek approval for a novel food or ingredient, product from novel technology, new food additive, processing aids including enzymes, articles of food consisting of or isolated from microorganisms, and any other nonspecified food. Major objectives of FSSAI are to set science-based food standards and regulate their manufacture, processing, distribution, sale, and import to ensure safety and quality. This chapter provides a brief understanding of various regulations and amendments from FSSAI that may be helpful to stakeholders in the process of ensuring compliance in India.