In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has further extended the deadline for Food Business Operators (FBOs) to renew their licences or registration till December 31.

This is the third extension given to FBOs for completing their licence and registration renewal process this year.

Earlier, it had given time till June 30 and then extended the deadline till July 31 for FBOs whose licences or registrations had expired in the March 22-June 30 period. The regulator has now extended the renewal deadline till December 31, for FBOs covered in the previous orders as well as for those whose licences or registrations are expiring in the period of August 1-December 31.

“All such FBOs are allowed to apply for renewal of their licences/registration till December 31, 2020, without any late fee as per clause 2.1.7(4) of the FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011,” it added. The order added that no claim of refund of late fee paid for an already applied renewal application shall be admissible while the existing FSSAI licence/registration shall be deemed valid in the interim. FSSAI said the decision was taken after reviewing the current situation as the country is grappling with the pandemic.

New standards for frozen vegetables

The FSSAI has also notified new norms for frozen beans, peas, spinach and cauliflower setting standards for hygiene, stability of colour and flavour that need to be adhered to before they are packaged. This comes at a time when ready-to-cook and frozen product segments are witnessing higher demand as consumers increasingly shift to cooking at home due to the pandemic.

The norms are part of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Fifth Amendment Regulations, 2020, which were finalised after a consultation process.

The new norms also define labelling standards for such frozen vegetables. For instance : in the case of frozen spinach, companies will need clearly define the format with terms such as whole spinach, leaf spinach, chopped spinach or pureed spinach, among others on the label. Similar norms have been set for frozen beans, frozen peas and frozen cauliflowers.

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