FSSAI to focus on enforcement of food standards in 2019

Some of the key regulations include the ones on alcoholic beverages, food fortification, advertising and claims, packaging, residues of pesticides, tolerance limits of antibiotics and pharmacologically active substances.

fssai, fssai food norms, food standard norms india, india food norms, fssai food norms india, india news, latest news, indian express — During 2018, FSSAI accelerated the process of setting standards and notified 27 new regulations for food standards (FSSAI logo)

With new food quality standards in place, regulator FSSAI will focus on enforcing the regulations without impacting businesses, CEO Pawan Agarwal said Tuesday. During 2018, FSSAI accelerated the process of setting standards and notified 27 new regulations for food standards, he added.

Some of the key regulations include the ones on alcoholic beverages, food fortification, advertising and claims, packaging, residues of pesticides, tolerance limits of antibiotics and pharmacologically active substances. “We are setting standards to ensure safe food to consumers and at the same time see to that they do no impact the businesses. Now that the standards (on food products) are more or less in place, our focus is going to be on compliance, monitoring, inspection and enforcement,” Agarwal told PTI.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on health and family welfare in a report submitted in 2018 had rapped FSSAI over weak enforcement of food safety laws and also recommended restructuring of the autonomous body that functions under the health ministry.

Asserting that the big focus will be on enforcement, Agarwal said while some of the standards are made effective from January 1, the implementation time for other products has been extended by three or six months depending on the cases.