The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Thursday operationalised much awaited regulations covering health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use and special medical purpose, functional foods and novel foods.

This is expected to bring relief to the food, nutraceuticals and dietary supplement industry.

Industry players said the move will help bring clarity and resolve the issues confronting the sector, and create a conducive regulatory environment.

FSSAI said that it had decided to make the regulations operational from immediate effect to help food business operators (FBOs).

In a statement, industry chamber CII said: “ As per the regulation, a period of a year has been provided to FBOs to comply with the provisions of the regulation, i.e, the enforcement shall commence from January 2018. In the interim period, the industry will need to work closely with the Food Authority to ensure a smooth transition to the new regime.”

Piruz Khambatta, co-Chair, CII National Committee on Food Processing Industry and CMD, Rasna Ltd, said this is a great beginning toward developing “science-based, globally compatible regulations for this sector”.

Anshu Budhraja, Managing Director, Amway India, said: “This is an enabling step taken by FSSAI to further improve the regulatory environment. The regulations will provide clarity to the food supplement industry by establishing standards for new food categories and create a level playing field for the industry.”

Related Topics