Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients by FSSAI

What are Non specified food and food ingredients

According to the FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS (APPROVAL FOR NON-SPECIFIED FOOD AND FOOD INGREDIENTS) REGULATIONS, 2017.

Non-Specified Food or Food Ingredients are defined as food products or ingredients that are neither standardised nor fall under the proprietary food category stated under the Food Safety and Standard Regulations.

The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 contains regulations that do not yet cover several food products and ingredients. FSSAI developed this regulation to regulate such products, including novel foods, and to give food business operators a chance to innovate food products.

The regulation broadly covers the following articles of food or food ingredients:

What is novel food

A food that meets one of the following criteria:

• Humans may not have consumed it in the past, or it may not have been consumed in the area or nation of interest;
• It may not have a history of consumption of the ingredients or its source.
• It may also have been obtained through novel technology or inventive engineering techniques. This process may alter the food’s or its ingredients’ size, composition, or structure, altering its nutritional value, metabolism, and characteristics.

New additives

The new additives are:

(a) chemical name and International Numbering System No.;

(b) purity (food grade or equivalent); and

(c) acceptable daily intake as set by the World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Food Additives, the Joint Food and Agriculture Organisation, or any other risk assessment body.
(d) The suggested usage level in the food category

New processing aids, including enzymes

1. Enzyme activity;
2. Specification;
3. Purity, which includes total organic acid (according to standards)
4. The final product’s residual limit (if processing aid is used)

Procedure for grant of prior approval

The Food Authority must receive an application in the form of FORM-I of these regulations from the manufacturer or importer of non-specified food, together with the required documents and government fees.

• The Food Authority will carefully examine the application and the information submitted by the applicant.
•   The Food Authority may request additional information, documentation, or clarifications from the applicant if needed.
• The Food Authority can approve or reject the application (FORM-II) based on the safety evaluation.
• Along with application, the owner of a food business must provide the Food Authority with a certificate of analysis detailing the nutritional, physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics of the food they have produced or imported.
• The owner of a food business has the right to appeal any decision rejecting his application to the Chairperson of the Food Authority.
• A food business owner who feels it needs to re-review may submit a review petition to be discussed at the Food Authority meeting.
• Any approval given to a food business operator may be suspended or revoked by the Food Authority for reasons that must be documented in writing.
• A food business owner must immediately stop manufacturing, importing, selling, or distributing any food that has received approval if they believe it poses a health risk. They must also notify the Food Authority to recall the food in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Recall) Regulations, 2017.
• Any complaint regarding the safety of any product that the Food Authority has approved in accordance with these regulations must be reported immediately to the Food Authority by Food Safety Officers and Designated Officers.
• Following approval, the food business operator must apply for a license in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

Fees

FBOs must submit a FORM-I Application for Approval of Non-Specified Food/Food Ingredient to the Food Authority along with the required paperwork and a government fee of fifty thousand rupees.

Rejection and appeal process

An appeal may be submitted to the Chairperson of the FSSAI within 30 days of the rejection date. The appeal must present scientific evidence as supporting documentation refuting the reasons for denial.

Provision for Recall

The Food Safety and Standards (Food Recall) Regulations, 2017 mandate that an FBO immediately suspend the manufacture, import, sale, or distribution of any food item for which he has received approval if he has reason to believe it poses a health risk. He must also take action to recall the food item by notifying the Food Authority.

All food safety officers and designated officers must immediately report any complaint regarding the safety of any product that the Food Authority has approved in accordance with these regulations.