FSSAI has issued directive under Section 16(5) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 re-operationalising the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Food) Regulations, 2018.

As per the country’s apex food regulator’s directive, the food authority had approved the final regulations relating to standards for fortifications of food in its 24th meeting and is in under the process of notifications.

Since, it is likely to take some time to notify the standards, FSSAI has decided to reoperationalise the Food Safety and Standards (Fortifications of Foods) Regulations, 2018.

The regulator had framed the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016, and thereafter, the draft notifications were notified in the Gazette of India, inviting comments and suggestions from the stakeholders. Later, the draft regulations were operationalised up to April 2018.

The draft defined the fortification means deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food, so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefits with minimal risk to health.

According to the fortification draft, every package of fortified food shall carry the words fortified with (name of the fortificant) and the fortification logo on the label. Whereas every package of food, fortified with iron shall carry a statement, “Not recommended for people with thalassemia and people on a low-iron diet.”

The regulations has standards for fortification of salt with iodine, fortification of vegetable oil and milk with Vitamin A or D, fortification of vanaspati and fortification of atta, maida and rice.

The regulations also deals with standards on micronutrient content in fortified food. It states that any manufacturer who fortifies any food should ensure the level of micronutrient does not fall below the minimum level and does not exceed the highest amount of micronutrients that can safely be added to such food.