The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is proposing to make amendments in the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 to introduce labelling of artificial sweetener on beverages sold through vending machines.

Currently, companies need to mandatorily declare the presence of artifical sweetener in every package of food (which is permitted to use artificial sweetener) on its labelling as well as in their advertisements.

Prominent labelling

The FSSAI has proposed that if a beverage product containing artificial sweetener is sold through vending machines, “a display or label” declaring the presence of artificial sweetener “shall be placed on the cups or in the container in which the product is served”.

It is also proposing to make it mandatory for a prominent display or labelling on the vending machine. The regulator has now sought views from the industry and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, FSSAI is also looking to bring amendments to set maximum permissible limits for presence of metal impurities besides other contaminants such as Aflatoxin in various food products. This is being done through a seperate draft of regulations.

For instance, In the case of milk, FSSAI is proposing to set maximum permissible limits for aflatoxin M1 at 0.5 µg/kg, 6 µg/kg in skimmed milk powder and 4 µg/kg in whole milk powder.

Setting limits

Recently, raw and processed milk samples were tested for presence of aflatoxin among other adulterants and contaminants as part of the National Milk Quality Survey 2018.

In its draft Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulations, 2018, it proposes limits for metal contaminants such as lead, chromium, copper, tin, cadmium, and arsenic. These maximum permissible limits of these metal contaminants have been proposed for a wide range of food products such as concentrated soft drinks, edible oils and fats, hard-boiled sugar confectionery, among others.

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