Fssai - Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

You must have seen FSSAI brand logo on majorly every food packet, and due to this government association, you will be able to identify which food packet is edible. Here in this article, I will talk about FSSAI - Food Safety and Standard Authority of India.

What is FSSAI's full form?

FSSAI is a government body that looks after food and edible products. Every type of food you can think of mostly comes under FSSAI. The protection and looking after these products is the function of these bodies.

They are responsible for food protection, which was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, on 5 September 2008. The Non-Executive head of this department, also known as the chairperson of FSSAI, is Shri Rajesh Bhushan, along with the chief executive director Ganji Kamalo V Rao.

Work of FSSAI How it Operates?

If you are having a food business, you need to have FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) approval before manufacturing, storing, packaging, distributing and selling food.  They have headquarters in New Delhi with 6 regional offices in 6 cities, 14 referral laboratories, 72 State/UT laboratories all over India and 112 NABL private laboratories.

FSSAI is one body of India that also that takes care of fake news that can spread through social media and hence disrupt consumers' general knowledge about food items. A situation of panic can arise if fake news is not properly dealt with; this news is spread through WhatsApp, Facebook, and other social media platforms.

Consumers can contact FSSAI using a Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA) Portal that helps people of India in filing complaints about misleading information and ads.

The FSSAI has set rules and regulations for some food items like dairy products, fruits, vegetables, cereals and meat, and sweetening agents, which also include honey, beverages, ingredients, etc. these things you can check out on their website.

Rules and Regulations of FSSAI

It also issues licenses and registrations for food businesses, retailers and restaurants.  There are three types of Licenses FSSAI issues based on the turnover, location, number of retail stores, etc. - Registration: The business should be having turnover that is less than ₹12 Lakh, State License: The business should be having a turnover that is between ₹12 Lakh to ₹20 Crore, and Central License: The business should be having turnover of more than ₹20 Crore.

FSSAI, 14 years ago, was able to start a project that was called Safe Food, Tasty Food which was started to enhance the safety and quality of food that was being served at food outlets.  

You must be wondering how FSSAI makes standards; the processes they use vary a lot which, includes the latest trends and developments in the food market and science, habits and patterns of food consumption, additives, processing methods that get changed, improvements in logical analysis of food, and threats that foods may be prone to.

After lots of thinking and debating, a draft is finalized, which is to be criticised by stakeholders, as FSSAI comes under WTO -SPO committee. Therefore, after all the points put up by them, the draft is finalized and implemented.

An example of FSSAIs work is: FSSAI rules and regulations clearly state that it doesn't allow any insects to be allowed inside chocolates. It takes well precautions to check this doesn't happen.

This is an example of FSSAIs' work on their website under the myth buster section. FSSAI can help you identify which food products are trustworthy and will not cause any effects on health.  

Also, Read More :

Courses in Psychology after Class 12th

Choosing Biotechnology as A Career After Class 10th

The Dark Side of Ed Tech: How Technology is Impacting Learning and Student Health

Share and subscribe to the blog by email.