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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) could look at recommending financial incentives, subsidies, and loans for food makers to encourage them to undertake fortification of food products with essential nutrients.
In a bid to promote fortified food, the food regulator said that it will endeavour to, “identify and recommend to the Centre and State governments, financial incentives, subsidies and loans to be provided to manufacturers and packers to encourage them to undertake fortification.”
In its draft notification for standards on food fortification, it has set out standards for fortification of products such as salt, vanaspati, atta, vegetable oil, milk, maida and rice with essential micro-nutrients. It also specifies packaging and labelling standards for fortified foods.
At the same time, the draft notification said that food manufacturers who comply with the provision of the regulations on fortified food, “shall be permitted to make a nutrition claim in relation to an article of fortified food under regulation 2.2.2(3) of the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011.”
The regulator has now sought feedback from the stakeholders on the same.
“With a view to promote wholesome food in the country, the Food Authority shall take steps to encourage the production, manufacture, distribution, sale and consumption of fortified food, including fortification through conventional breeding/hybridization, in cooperation with concerned government departments,” the draft notification said.
In addition, the FSSAI said it will take steps to organise public awareness on nutrition and fortified food as well as conduct technical assistance programmes and provide technical expertise to small manufacturers to enable them to undertake fortification.
According to the draft notification of standards, manufacturers will need to ensure that the level of micro-nutrient in such fortified food does not fall below the minimum level specified or exceeds the highest amount of micro-nutrients as recognised by international standards.
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