The FSSAI has drafted standards for Complementary Foods for Older Infants and Young Children and release it on 17th Jan, 2017. This time FSSAI also seeks public views and suggestion which should reach the FSSAI office within 60 days. FSSAI has proposed changes in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, in the regulation CEREALS AND CEREAL PRODUCTS under the category “Malt Extract” where the additional requirements for standards for Complementary Foods for Older Infants and Young Children have been included.

The proposed standards define this category of foods for infants and children by explaining that the complementary feeding period is the period when the older infants transition from exclusive feeding of breast milk and/or breast milk substitutes to eating the family diet.

  • Older Infant means the age when toddlers are 18 to 24 months old
  • Young Children means the age between 24 months and 5 years old

Suitable raw materials and ingredients 

Cereals: All milled cereals suitable for human consumption can be added but they must contain carbohydrates and protein between 8-12 percent. Also they must fulfil the following requirements

  • where necessary have reduced fibre
  • decrease or elimination of anti-nutrients such as phytates, tannins and other phenolic materials, lectins, trypsins and chymo-trypsin inhibitors as they can lower protein quality and digestibility,
  • amino acid bioavailability and mineral absorption to be permitted
  • appropriate enzymes for decreasing the fibre content and anti-nutrients may be used during processing

Legumes and Pulses: chickpeas, cowpeas, green gram, kidney and soya beans, etc. which have at least 20% proteins on dry basis.

  • these provide lysine but are since they are deficient in L-methionine which may be added
  • processed to reduce, as much as possible, anti-nutritional factors normally present such as phytates, lectins (haemagglutenins), trypsin and chemo-trypsin inhibitors
  • Only soya that contains low levels of phytoerstroges may be used
  • field beans and faba beans should not be used due to favism 

Oil seed flours and oil seed protein products

Following oil seeds depending on local conditions and requirements may be used;

  • Soyabeans: defatted flour, protein concentrate, protein isolate
  • Ground nut: paste, protein isolate
  • Sesame seeds: whole ground and defatted flour
  • Sunflower seed: defatted flour
  • Low erucic acid rape seed: full fat flour

Defatted oil seed flours and protein isolates, appropriately processed for human consumption can be used as a food source of 50-95% protein. Other requirements are that: 

Animal source foods: Animal source foods such as meat, fish, poultry and eggs are nutrient dense and source of high quality protein and nutrients may be added

Fats and oils: Fats and oils which are energy dense may be added in adequate quantities. Use of partially hydrogenated fats is prohibited.

Fruits and vegetables: as a source of micronutrients

Milk and milk products may be used

Ingredients to improve the nutritional quality may be used like digestible carbohydrates to increase energy density of foods

Vitamins and minerals may be added to improve the micronutrient levels of the product at the levels and must be calculated at minimum 50% RDA and maximum 1 RDA. The vitamins permitted along with the minimum and maximum limits per 100 gram of food is given in tabular form.

Food Additives: Similar to vitamins, the food additives permitted in this category of foods have been listed along with the maximum level in 100 grams of food which is ready for consumption.

The following essential requirements must be followed in all Complementary Foods for Older Infants and Young Children

  • Energy density should be at least 4 kilo calories per gram on dry basis
  • Protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) should not be less than
  • 70% of the WHO amino acid pattern for the children from 2 to 5 years. Protein shall be min 15% with Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) of 2.0 or minimum 20% with PER of 1.75.
  • Moisture by weight max 8.0%
  • Fat by weight max 7.5%
  • Total ash by weight max 7.5%
  • Bacterial count, per gram not more than 10,000 colonies (TPC)
  • Coliform count absent in 0.1 gram
  • coli count absent in 0.1 gram
  • Yeast and mould count absent in 0.1 gram
  • Staphylococcus aureus absent in 0.1 gram
  • Bacillus cereus absent in 0.1 gram
  • Salmonella and Shigella absent in 0.1 gram

Packaging and Labelling

The food must be packed in hermetically sealed, clean and sound containers or in flexible pack made from film or combination of any other substrate made of board, paper, polyethylene, polyester, metallized film or in such a way to protect from deterioration. It may be packed with nitrogen or mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide flushing and filling during packing to remove atmosphere of oxygen within the pack.

  • The product shall be labelled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011.
  • Special labelling requirements must be followed as prescribed in “Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 as amended in 2003 (IMS Act).

The product must also conform to the limits of contaminants, residues and toxins as Specified in Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011.