FSSAI warns against violation of mandatory labelling norms for nutraceuticals

New Delhi: Food regulator FSSAI has expressed concern over food companies not adhering to mandatory labelling norms on their nutraceutical and health supplement products and warned of action if they do not comply.

In a social media post on Monday, the Food and Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued an advisory on 'mandatory compliance with labelling requirements and warning statements for plant and botanical ingredients and their extracts'."Several Food Business Operators (FBOs) engaged in the manufacture and sale of nutraceuticals, health supplements, or food for special dietary use or food for special medical purpose etc., are not adhering to the mandatory labelling requirements and warning statements," the regulator said.

The Food Safety and Standards (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016, regulate the manufacture, sale and distribution of non-conventional food categories.

These foods are health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use, food for special medical purposes, food with added prebiotic and probiotic ingredients, functional food and novel food."The regulations stipulate compliance standards concerning the permissible limit inter alia of plant and botanical ingredients and their extracts either alone or in combination of ingredients," FSSAI said.

The regulation imposes rigorous labelling requirements and prohibits any medicinal claims or suggestions of disease cure.

Under these regulations, FSSAI mandates that warning statements must be prominent, legible and clear to prevent misuse, especially by vulnerable populations.