India: India's FSSAI Extends Implementation Date for Processing Aids in Food Products

On June 22, 2021, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published a directive extending by six months the implementation date of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Ninth Amendment Regulations (2020). The new implementation date is January 1, 2022. Acting on the request of stakeholders, the FSSAI is extending the regulations’ implementation date in order harmonize its enactment with the FSSAI notification of March 4, 2021, pertaining to amendments being made to the (food) processing aids list. On July 12, 2021, the FSSAI notified an additional list of food processing aids, which to date remain under consideration, requiring additional time for review and subsequent inclusion in the principal regulation through an amendment. Some of these processing aids are already in use by food business operators (FBOs). With the notification, the FSSAI is allowing FBOs to use these food processing aids until they are published in the Official Gazette of India.