Zomato, swiggy begin delisting restaurant partners without FSSAI license

The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) is requesting the food safety body FSSAI to extend the deadline for mentioning FSSAI license number on bills as asked by the operator earlier.

FHRAI on Monday said it has made a representation to food safety regulator FSSAI on this.

Earlier this month, Food safety and Standards Authority of India has mandated food business operators to mention FSSAI licence or registration number on cash receipts or purchase invoice with effect from October 1 2021.

Also Read: Restaurants, food businesses to mention FSSAI licence no. on invoice/bills from Oct

FHRAI said that it is in favour of the FSSAI's latest order. However, the hospitality body has requested the regulator to take into consideration the COVID-hit industry's on-going crisis and the additional expense burden that businesses would have to incur to implement new systems, including the printing of new receipts, invoices, bills, cash memos and updating of the software.

"FHRAI appreciates the FSSAI's endeavour to set up a robust customer grievance system in the country. This will also improve the overall awareness of the FSSAI and its underlying objectives of creating a safe and hygienic ecosystem for FBOs," shared Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, VP, FHRAI Vice President in a statement.

While this is a great initiative, Kohli added it has to be taken into account that at present, tourism and hospitality is the most impacted sector by the COVID pandemic.

"During such times of deep crisis, the implementation of this order would entail a lot of additional expenses on businesses. Hence, we request FSSAI to extend the timeline for implementation of the order until such time that some normalcy returns to the sector," he added.

Food safety and standards authority of India has extended the deadline by six months till July 1, 2021 for the food business operators (FBOs) to comply with the regulations related to limit of calcium and magnesium in packaged drinking water, other than mineral water.

FSSAI had earlier extended the deadline to July 1, 2020 and subsequently till January 1, 2021.

The food safety body said in a statement that representation has been received from a section of stakeholders requesting for further extension of time since FBOs are not yet prepared to comply with regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It has been decided to further extend the timeline for compliance related to limits of calcium and magnesium for the standards of Packaged Drinking Water (other than mineral water) up to July 1," shared FSSAI statement.

These standards on packaged drinking water are prescribed in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) fourth amendment regulations, 2019.

According to the new regulations of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that will be notified soon, food companies cannot use words such as ‘natural’, ‘fresh’, ‘original’, ‘traditional’, ‘pure’, ‘aunthentic’, ‘genuine’ and ‘real’ on the labels unless the product is not processed in any manner except washed, peeled, chilled and trimmed or put through other processing which could alter its basic characteristics.

The move is aimed at making companies more accountable for their health and nutritional claims to protect consumer interest.

The food regulator further stated that the companies using terms which could mean ‘natural’, ‘fresh’, ‘original’, ‘traditional’, ‘pure’, ‘authentic’, ‘genuine’ and ‘real’ as their brand name or trade mark will have to give a clear disclaimer stating “this is only a brand name or trade mark and does not represent its true nature”.

A spokesperson for HUL said, "We are fully supportive of FSSAI’s efforts to improve nutritional standards in India. Along with the rest of the F&B industry, we are engaging with them to have robust regulations in place."

मोहन सिंह आलूवालिया ने कहा कि 68.7% दूध व दूध से बने उत्पाद फ़ूड सेफ्टी व स्टैंडर्ड्स अथॉरिटी ऑफ़ इंडिया (एफएसएसएआई) के मापदंडों के अनुसार नहीं हैं। उन्होंने कहा कि सामान्य मिलावट डिटर्जेंट, कास्टिक सोडा, ग्लूकोज़, सफेद पेण्ट एवं रिफाइंड आयल द्वारा की जाती है। आलूवालिया ने आगे कहा कि देश में दूध व दूध से बने उत्पादों में मिलावट इतनी है कि 68.71% दूध व इससे बने उत्पाद एफएसएसएआई द्वारा निर्धारित मापदंडों के तहत नहीं बेचे जाते।

31 मार्च 2018 तक भारत में दैनिक दूध उत्पादन 14.68 करोड़ लीटर पंजीकृत है। उत्तर प्रदेश के राज्यों में दक्षिण राज्यों की अपेक्षा दूध में अधिक मिलावट दर्ज की जाती है। आलूवालिया ने आगे कहा कि कुछ वर्ष पूर्व में दूध में मिलावट पर हुए राष्ट्रीय सर्वे में यह पाया गया कि साफ़-सफाई व स्वच्छता कि कमी व दूध की संभाल, पैकेजिंग के लिए धोने वाले टबों में, दूध व दूध उत्पादों में डिटर्जेंट पाउडर मिलाया जाता है।

यद्यपि दूध में डिटर्जेंट पाउडर व दूसरे दूषणकारी तत्व जैसे यूरिया,  स्टार्च,  ग्लूकोज़ व फोर्मलिन इसलिए मिलाया जाता है, चूंकि यह दूध को गाढ़ा बनाते हैं और दूध को लम्बे समय तक सुरक्षित रख सकते हैं। हाल ही में भारत सरकार को जारी विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन की परामर्शी के अनुसार यदि दूध व दूध से बने उत्पादों में मिलावट को जल्द नहीं रोका जाता तो 2025 तक 87% नागरिक बहुत गंभीर बीमारियों जिसे कैंसर से ग्रस्त हो जाएंगे।    

Mohan Singh Ahluwalia, a member of Animal Welfare Board of India, said that around 68.7% of milk and milk products sold in India is not as per the standards prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

He said that the most common adulterants which are being used are detergent, caustic soda, glucose, white paint and refined oil.

"The state of adulteration in milk and milk products in the country is such that 68.7 per cent of milk and milk products sold is not as per the standards laid down by the FSSAI," Ahluwalia further stated.

The production of milk in India is registered at 14.68 crore litres per day till March 31, 2018. The adulteration in milk was more in the Northern states as compared to the southern states of India.

Ahluwalia further said that as per a survey conducted by the National Survey on Milk Adulteration a few years back, it was found that due to lack of hygiene and sanitation in handling and packaging, detergents used in washing containers mix with milk and milk products.

"However, detergent and other contaminants like urea, starch, glucose and formalin are also used to deliberately adulterate milk as they provide thickness and preserve the milk for longer periods," he added.

As per an advisory issued by The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently to the Government of India, if adulteration of milk and milk products is not checked immediately, 87 per cent of citizens would be suffering from serious diseases like cancer by the year 2025.

During a review by FSSAI today of e-Commerce food platforms, FSSAI has found that e-Commerce platforms did not have details of FSSAI license and /or registration in respect of as many as 30% to 40% of the restaurants listed on their sites. Some of the e-commerce platforms had not even obtained license by themselves. As per conditions of license, such e-Commerce platform could only list restaurants that have FSSAI license or registration.

Earlier, late last month, FSSAI had directed leading e-Commerce Food Service Providers like Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda, UberEats and others to de-list non-FSSAI licensed food business from their platform by 31st July, 2018 after receiving consumer complaints of sub-standard food being served through e-commerce platforms. The aggregators were advised to display FSSAI license number on their platform along with name and location of the restaurants. 

In the review meeting held yesterday, the regulator found that some of the leading food aggregators are operating without FSSAI License or registration. Further, it was noted by the Regulator that more than 30-40% of listed food businesses by these e-Commerce aggregators are un-licensed or un-Registered. In many cases, listed food businesses have recently applied for FSSAI License/Registration but still do not possess them.

The Regulator gave a time of two-weeks to these food aggregators to submit an action plan to

de-list un-Licensed/un-Registered food businesses. These aggregators were also advised to promote food safety and hygiene amongst their listed food businesses by training of food safety supervisors, compliance of Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), ensuring display of ‘Food Safety Boards’ on their premises. It has also been decided to conduct audit of IT platforms of these e-Commerce food aggregators from the angle of compliances for food safety and hygiene under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 read with Food Safety (Licensing and Registration) Regulations, 2011.

In his statement on the subject, CEO, FSSAI, Pawan Agarwal stated that ‘this is part of special drive by the regulator to bring in all food businesses under the FSSAI licensing regime and ensure compliance of the food safety laws’. He pointed out that ‘FSSAI had only recently notified regulation bringing e-Commerce aggregator platforms within the purview of the food safety law. He hoped that these platforms will now begin to take food safety seriously from a regulatory standpoint.’  He further appealed to these aggregators to begin to use some of their resources in training and capacity building of restaurants for improving food safety and hygiene rather than focusing only on deep discounts and aggressive marketing to build consumer traction to their respective platforms. He hoped that the investors of the platforms will take note of this.

In a bid to strengthen the food safety surveillance system and assuring safe food to the consumers, FSSAI will undertake the audits of Food Business Operators through private auditing agencies/third party.

This move of third party food safety audits has been taken to reduce the burden on the regulatory inspections conducted by Central or State Licensing Authorities

In this regard FSSAI has enlisted 15 food safety auditing agencies which have been granted provisional recognition as food safety auditing agencies under draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations, 2017.

These include Onecert International, Bureau Veritas (India), BSI Group India, Indocert, DNV GL Business Assurance, Intertek, IRCLASS Systems and Solutions, RIR Certification, TUV India, TUV Rheinland (India), MS Certification Services, SGS India Pvt Ltd, Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Limited, URS Certification Ltd and BIS.

These food auditing agencies will be used for audit of some food businesses as decided by FSSAI.

The classification will be based on factors like food type, intended customer use, nature of activity of the business, volume of the business & method of processing/any other factors prescribed by food authority.

FSAAI in its notification said that the experience and feedback obtained would be used while finalizing the regulations in this regard.

Presently, the provisionally recognized auditing agencies will only be engaged by FSSAI to audit some food businesses as decided by the FSSAI from time to time.

Once the Draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations, 2017 after considering the comments from relevant stakeholders, is finally vetted and notified, the food authority shall from time to time specify the category of food businesses which shall be liable for mandatory audits, it added.

Also, to encourage self compliance, food businesses which are not subject to mandatory Food Safety auditing can also conform to auditing of their businesses on voluntary basis.

“Food businesses having undergone satisfactory audits will be subjected to less frequent audits by Central or State licensing authorities”, said FSSAI in its notification.

Seeking to promote safe and healthy food, FSSAI today said it will provide a training tool kit to health workers at the proposed 1.5 lakh wellness centres under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme for raising public awareness on the issue at the grass root levels.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will tomorrow launch a national campaign -- The Eat Right Movement -- with health and wellness centres to integrate its existing initiatives 'Safe and Nutritious Food' (SNF) at schools, home and workplace as well as food fortification, its CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal said.

"Under this movement, we have developed a tool kit for health workers as well as citizens. This will be made available and integrated to 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres. We want to scale up our existing initiatives and reach out to masses," he told .

The Eat Right tool kit would serve as a supplementary engagement resource to be mainstreamed in the national nutrition and public health programmes, he said, adding that the focus is on preventive healthcare through social and behavioral change on eating safe and healthy food.

FSSAI's Chief Management Service Officer Madhavi Das said the tool kit has clear and simple message on eating healthy food and avoiding food with high fat, sugar and salt.

It also includes components on eating safe such as maintaining hygiene and sanitation and food adulteration.

"We are also bringing out TV commercial as well as posters to spread awareness about eating safe and healthy food," she said.

The tool kit is designed to provide food safety and nutrition messages for citizens in an interesting and engaging manner.

It aims to train frontline health workers, under the Ayushman Bharat, ASHA and Anganwadi schemes, to deliver these messages effectively to prevent non-communicable diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart ailments, and avoid food borne diseases.

"Healthy diet is one of the key responses to the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases," Das said.

Under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, the government aims to open 1.5 lakh health and wellness centre by 2022, which would be equipped to treat host of diseases, including blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and old-age illness.

Food safety regulator FSSAI has announced to drop down the quantity of trans-fatty acids (TFA) in vanaspati/bakery shortenings/margarine to less than 2 per cent in a phased manner, which would effectively bring the level of trans-fats to zero level in food in India.

Since the industry has agreed on the issue, the regulator said it will soon notify a draft regulation and release the final one in the next 3-4 months, it said.

TFA are largely present in vanaspati (used in the preparation of sweets and deep fried foods) and margarine and bakery shortenings. Trans-fatty acids are also formed during repeated heating of fats/oils while deep frying at home and restaurants.

"We are planning to achieve less than 2 per cent TFA content by 2022, a year ahead of the global target to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fat from the food supply by the year 2023," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal said in a statement.

TFA reduction in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVOs) from 5 per cent to 2 per cent will be carried out in a phased manner by the industry. We hope that this initiative will drive the market for trans-fat free products in the future, he said.

Many countries around the world, such as Denmark, Chile, Norway, Singapore, South Africa and Equador already limit trans-fat in all foods to 2 per cent, while a few other countries such as Austria, Hungary and Latvia limit it to 2 per cent level with some exceptions.

Research has shown that higher intakes of trans-fatty acids is associated with increased risk of high cholesterol and heart diseases.

Trans fatty acids can be easily eliminated by adopting newer technologies which allow the use of healthier oils in place of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils at negligible costs.

Recently, the UN body World Health Organisation (WHO) has given a call to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fats from the food supply by 2023 and has released an action package 'REPLACE' for the same.

Industrially produced trans-fatty acids are bad fats, created artificially during hydrogenation processes while making PHVOs, which are the major source of trans-fatty acids in India.

The country’s food regulator has proposed cut down maximum amount of trans fat content in vegetable oils, vegetable fat and hydrogenated vegetable oil to 2 per cent by weight as part of its objective to make India trans fat-free by 2022.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said, “We are in discussions with the industry to persuade them to reduce the amount of trans fatty acids in edible oil. We are conducting various studies and getting opinions of medical experts on whether this needs to be further reduced.”

The current permitted level of trans fat is 5 per cent in India. The World Health Organisation has urged governments across the world to eliminate the use of trans fats from global food supplies by 2023. “We have taken steps towards this even before WHO’s announcement,” Agarwal added. However, this may take some time, he added.

Trans fatty acids are made through hydrogenation of oils, which solidifies them. They help to increase the shelf life of oils and foods and stabilise their flavours. Trans fats can be found in food and food products such as some margarines, crackers, biscuits, snack foods and french fries.

In 2015, the food regulator set the maximum level of trans fatty acids at 5 per cent in food products from 10 per cent earlier. It directed that the level of trans fats in food products must be disclosed on the label.

Trans fats are known to raise the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or the ‘bad’ cholesterol, in the blood and increase the risk of coronary artery heart disease and stroke.

India’s food regulator, FSSAI has proposed a ban on all forms of advertising of products with high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) aimed at children, a move that could affect companies making chips, burgers, pizzas and other junk food.

“HFSS food products shall not be advertised to children in any form,” the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said in a notice inviting comments, views and suggestions to its draft regulations.

However, the draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018, did not spell out how the advertising curbs would be enforced. An expert panel set up by the authority earlier had recommended a ban on advertising of junk foods on children’s channels or during kids’ shows on TV.

“Potato chips, colas, ready-to-eat food and pickle are hugely advertised products which fall in the category of high fat, sugar and salt. However, these are items of general consumption, so how do we ensure that children are excluded from viewing those ads?” asked Sagar Kurade, a representative of the All India Food Processors' Association.

The Food and Beverage Alliance of India, which includes companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, Kellogg, Mars Chocolate, Hindustan Unilever and Mondelez, has already decided to voluntarily restrict food and beverage advertisements aimed at children.

“The revenue of kids’ channels has already suffered due to responsible advertising policy of most multi-national companies.

Going forward, there could be some more dent, however, it may not be so much,” said Basabdatta Chowdhuri, chief operating officer of media-buying agency Publicis Media. The draft policy suggests that food companies declare the quantity of total fat, added sugar, salt, trans fat and energy in each serving with the recommended dietary allowance.

The FSSAI has revived the Food Safety and Standards (Licencing and Registration of Food Business) Amendment Regulations making it mandatory for restaurants to display listing of dos and don’ts with respect to hygiene, sanitation, good manufacturing practices (GMP), etc. The association will also employ trained food safety supervisor on their premises.

Under the new circular issued for obtaining license and registrations, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has revised the conditions for restaurants to obtain licences.

The new rule prescribed that a food safety display board needs to be displayed at a prominent place in the premises, along with the employment of at least one technical person or food safety supervisor trained by the country’s apex food regulator in case of restaurants. 

However, giving relief to the restaurants, FSSAI has reduced the burden of documentation. Under Section 2 of the regulations regarding documents to be enclosed for new application for licences to the Central or State Licensing Authority for restaurant, the list has been revised.

The new regulations stated, “Accordingly restaurants do not require to submit the blueprint/layout plan, the name and list of equipment and machinery, the list of food category, the copy of certificate obtained under Co-operative Act, the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the manufacturer and the recall plan while applying for a Central or state licence.”

H G Koshia, commissioner, Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) Gujarat, said these revised regulations will allow the simplification of the process involved in licencing and registration

He added, “The food business operators (FBOs) will get licences easier and faster through minimum requirement of papers,” he said, adding that it would also help in pushing the FBOs to understand the requirement under the Food Safety and Standards (Licencing and Registration) Regulations, 2011, and ensure their compliance.”

Meanwhile, under Section 1 for licencing and registration of e-commerce FBOs, FSSAI stated that to regulate the online marketing companies involved in the selling of food items, the e-commerce has been included under the kind of business. The procedure for licencing and registration of e-commerce business operators, along with their responsibilities, has also been prescribed. 

Further, in Part-II of Schedule 4 relating to general requirements on hygienic and sanitary practices to be followed by all FBOs applying for licences. The regulator stated, “These requirements under Schedule 4 have been revised and simplified to facilitate the industry to implement GMP and good hygiene practices (GHP) and to meet the regulatory requirements.”

In regards to establishing a small slaughterhouse, wherein currently, specific hygienic and sanitary practices to be followed by FBOs engaged in manufacturer, processing, storing and selling of meat and meat products is detailed in Part-IV of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licencing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011.

The new rules stated that these requirements were found to be incompatible with the operation of small slaughterhouses, hence, the minimum sanitary and hygienic requirements for establishing small slaughterhouses have been developed. 

Further, FSSAI has also simplified the requirements relating to GHP and GMP to be followed by licenced FBOs engaged in catering or food service operations.

The regulator added that it had been done to facilitate ease of doing business while ensuring food safety of the business operations, while adding that such operationalisation would also enable the regulator to get the feedback regarding difficulties, if any, faced in implementing the amended/new provisions which could be suitably taken into consideration at the time of finalising the single comprehensive amendment to the given regulations. 

FBOs have been advised to follow these revised regulations Immediately.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI while inaugurating FICCI’s food service retail conclave ‘Foodzania 2017’ said “FSSAI License is mandatory for the sales of food product to ensure the health and safety of the consumers. Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, regulates, manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of food to promote health and safety of consumers. It governs people involved in any food business, whether manufacturing or selling and food business operators. These include shops, stalls, hotels, restaurants, airline services and food canteens, places or vehicles where any article of food is sold or manufactured or stored for sale.”

In his inaugural address, Mr. Agarwal said “FSSAI is keen to further simplify the compliance processes with active industry support and consultation. He, however, added that it is mandatory for all food businesses – caterers, manufacturers, companies transporting food items and retail outlets with 25 or more people handling food to have at least one trained ‘food safety supervisor’. The supervisor should be trained under the Food Safety Training and Certification Programme (FoSTaC), designed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The supervisors would be responsible for ensuring that food quality is maintained.”

Further, Agarwal highlighted the need for the intended engagements from the industry side to protect and ensure the trust of consumers in the food that they intake. He added that display of the food licences in the hotel/restaurant premises is an ideal way to go forward. FSSAI is keen to rate the food business operators (FBO’s) through ‘Hygiene Varity Factors’ and will allocate start ratings to the restaurants and eating places out of six on the basis of certain factors including hygiene awareness, safety processes etc.

Unnat Varma, Managing Director, Pizza Hut Indian Sub-Continent & Chairperson, FICCI Food Service Retail Taskforce said “in the progressive Indian society, food expenditures hold a lot of prominence, constituting the largest retail consumption category. In fact, the Indian food retail industry is positioned globally as the sixth-largest and has been increasing at a steady pace of over 20 per cent annually. Owing to this reason, the food services industry in the country has witnessed unprecedented growth over the past few years, contributing a significant proportion to India’s economic performance. “

Saurabh Kochhar, CEO, Foodpanda & Chairperson, FICCI Food Service Retail Taskforce, said “Foodzania is the initiative by FICCI Food Service Retail Task Force which was formed to address the issues faced by the stakeholders in the sector. The Indian F&B sector is poised to witness a sea change. The recent times have seen significant discussions in this sector, which has led to a major reform of allowing FDI in multi-brand Retail in India. This is anticipated to bring some game changing impact on the modern retail sector in India and Nation at large. It is not a one stop solution to address the challenges of this huge Industry. Various issues like Infrastructure bottlenecks, multiple laws and regulations, skill gap etc. still remains a key concern and we aim to deliberate on these ground realities. We all know that F&B sector is one of the more matured industry in India. Huge consumer base in India provides numerous opportunities for every player to exist and operate successfully in this sector. The industry being deeply connected with our day to day lives holds the responsibility of serving their consumers most effectively with best quality and prices. FSSAI, has always been at forefront in facilitating the investments in the F&B sector and I trust Industry would provide full support to the Government in achieving this task together.”

Further, Kochchar said “Government has allowed 100% FDI for trading including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured or produced in India. 100% FDI is already permitted in manufacturing of food products through automatic route. This will provide impetus to the foreign investment in food processing sector, benefit farmers immensely and will create vast employment opportunities. This has enhanced investment opportunities in India globally and have generated interest among the leading world food retailers for making investment in India. I am confident that this conference will come forward with new ideas that will boost the growth of the F & B sector, at the same time, enhance consumers’ welfare. “

On the occasion, Mr. Agarwal with other dignitaries launched the FICCI-Technopak report ‘Indian Food Services Industry: Engine for Economic Growth & Employment- A Roadmap for Unlocking Growth’, which highlights the overall potential of the food service in India and captures the emerging trends in the industry. It also throws light upon the ease of doing business scenario in the industry. The report recommends key alterations required to stimulate the growth in the food service industry, helping the industry realize its true potential. A concerted and collaborative effort is made to suggest the next steps to address various issues faced by the industry.

Food regulator FSSAI has set up a scientific panel to frame final regulations on fortification of foods and prepare strategies to address malnutrition problem.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has already issued the draft guidelines on fortification for five food items- salt, milk, wheat flour, rice and edible oil, to boost production and consumption of fortified foods.

The draft rules were operationalised in October even as FSSAI sought comments from stakeholders before finalising the final regulations.

Fortification means deliberately adding or increasing the content of essential micro nutrients in food items to improve quality.

Standards have been set for fortification of salt with iodine and iron; of vegetable oil and milk with vitamin A and D; wheat flour and rice with iron, folic acid, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin A and some other micro nutrients

"FSSAI has set up a new Scientific Panel on 'Food Fortification and Nutrition' to address issues related to fortification of food," the regulator said in a statement.

The panel has 11 experts and scientists -- Ambrish Mithal from Medanta; CS Pandav and R K Marwaha (Retd) from AIIMS; Anura Kurpad from St John s Medical College; Yogeshwar Shukla from CSIR - Indian Institute of Toxicilogy Research, HPS Sachdev from Sita Ram Bharatia Institute of Science and Research; KM Nair from NIN; P Ramachandran from Nutrition Foundation of India; Sumit Arora from NDRI; Sirimavo Nair from the MS University, Baroda, and Harsulkar from Bharati Vidyapeeth.

Members from Scientific Panels dealing with food fortifying vehicles such as wheat flour, refined flour, rice, milk, edible oil and salt will also be a part of this committee.

The Panel will identify critical nutritional gaps in the Indian diet in general as well as in specific target groups based on diet surveys and credible scientific evidence.

It will define strategies to address nutritional needs of the general population and vulnerable groups, besides reviewing the standards for all suitable food fortifying vehicles.

The panel will also address regulatory and related technological issues, review proposals from industry using modern risk assessment methods, and prescribe standard sampling and test methods for effective monitoring, surveillance and enforcement of the relevant regulations.

FSSAI had earlier brought out Draft Regulations for fortified food -- Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Food) Regulations, 2016 which were operationalised in October, 2016.

"Based on the comments received on the draft Regulations, the Panel will finalise the Regulations," FSSAI said.

Apart from framing standards, FSSAI has launched the Food Fortification Resource Centre (FFRC) to promote large-scale fortification of food across India.

An online portal of FFRC to facilitate food businesses and bring fortified foods into government programmes was launched in November.

With an effective regulatory mechanism along with the continuous support of all the stakeholders, FSSAI expects that the problem of malnutrition in general and micronutrient malnutrition in particular would be overcome soon.

FSSAI has also unveiled a Logo for fortified foods which may be used by food companies.