The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has permitted an extension of timelines for compliances relating to the use of printing ink on food packages.
It may be recalled that the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 were notified on 24th December 2018. These Regulations incorporate IS standards prescribed for packaging materials as mandatory compliances.
The FSSAI has observed in its directions, that these IS standards are usually periodically updated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). These revisions are based on technological updates or changes in Global Standards. When these revisions are incorporated into the Regulations, they become mandatory compliances.
The FSSAI has acknowledged that Food Business Operators (FBOs) face difficulties in immediately complying with the revisions published by the BIS. Therefore, the FSSAI has declared that FBOs must comply with the revised IS standards either by 1st January (date of coming into force of the Regulations) or 1st July (last date for compliance) as the case may be. Furthermore, it permits a transition period of a minimum of 180 days from the date of publication of the standards by BIS.
