The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has announced a change to its inspection checklists, reclassifying the point related to “food grade packaging material” from “non-critical” to “critical” for various food business sectors. This decision was conveyed by an order dated April 3, 2025.
Why the Change?
The FSSAI has recognized that food packaging plays a pivotal role in preventing contamination and maintaining food safety. The authority also cites provision 3 (14) of the FSS (Packaging) Regulation, 2018, which highlights the importance of food-grade packaging.
The following sectors will now have the point related to food packaging material reclassified as “critical” in their inspection checklists:
- General Manufacturing
- Milk and Milk Product Processing
- Meat Processing
- Fish and Fish Products Processing
- Catering
Previously, the packaging material point in these checklists was considered “non-critical” and carried a scoring of 02. Now, it has been upgraded to “critical” and the scoring has been increased to 04.
Furthermore, the new checklist requires that packaging material used shall have Certificate of conformity issued by NABL accredited laboratory against the FSS (Packaging) Regulations, 2018. Inspectors will check for records of this conformity certificate during inspections.
This reclassification will lead to stricter scrutiny of packaging materials used in the food industry, thereby enhancing food safety. Food businesses will be held more accountable for the quality and safety of their packaging.
The requirement for a Certificate of Conformity from NABL accredited laboratories will ensure compliance with FSS (Packaging) Regulations, 2018. This measure will ultimately benefit consumers by ensuring that food products are packaged in safe and compliant materials.
The changes have been implemented in the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS). All other points in the inspection checklists will remain unchanged.
