The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has floated a consultation paper proposing to restrict permission for manufacturing certain products to food business operators holding state and central licenses only. These products include infant food products, sweetened condensed milk, packaged drinking water , mineral water and milk powders. The Authority has sought comments from stakeholders on the same.
Currently, food business operators manufacturing these products are required to obtain either FSSAI registration or license based on their eligibility.
Earlier , manufacturers of products such as infant nutrition, packaged drinking and mineral water and condensed skimmed milk, were required to obtain mandatory certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards besides FSSAI registration or license. However in 2024, the government decided to remove mandatory BIS certification requirements as part of its efforts to ensure ease of doing measures.
In a bid to strengthen the compliance ecosystem, now FSSAI is proposing that existing registered companies that make these products should be transitioned to mandatory licensing. It is also proposing that new players intending to manufacture these high-risk products will need to obtain state or central license to manufacture these products. Therefore, it is proposing to restrict companies that hold FSSAI registration to have permission to make these products.
Obtaining registration
The Authority noted that obtaining registration involves fewer compliance obligations compared to licensing. Food business operators that obtain FSSAI registration are not required to submit test reports of product analysis on a mandatorily basis. Unlike license holders, it is also not mandatory for FBOs with registration to submit annual returns, have qualified technical personnel to supervise the production process and conduct third-party audits. They only need to comply with very basic hygiene and sanitary standards compared to licensed FBOs. “Additionally, Registered FBOs may lack the technical, financial and infrastructural capabilities to ensure safe production, especially for technically demanding products like infant foods and packaged drinking water,” FSSAI noted in its consultation paper.
“ To further strengthen the compliance ecosystem it has been proposed that no new Registrations and renewal of existing registration shall be allowed for manufacturing of the specified products. Only State or Central Licenses shall be permitted,” it stated.
The Authority said once finalised a special drive will be conducted to convert existing registered FBOs to license category. It also said that about a six months transition period will be given to allow FBOs to shift to the licensing category. As per its estimates, there are over 11,000 food business operators that make such products and hold FSSAI registration.
Published on May 2, 2025
