In an article published on November 9, 2017, regulatory news provider Chemical Watch informed that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has on October 13, 2017 notified the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) committee on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO-SPS) of draft Indian food packaging regulations, inviting comments and suggestions from WTO-SPS member countries. Comments are accepted for 60 days after the notification date.
The proposed regulation, updating the Food Safety and Standards Rule of 2011, covers the food contact use of several materials, i.e. paper and board, glass, metal and metal alloys, and plastics. In addition, the draft regulation outlines 17 Indian standards specifying the use of various plastics in food contact applications. The migration limits for plastic FCMs are set at 60 mg/kg or 10 mg/dm2, with no visible color migration. Further, specific migration limits (SMLs) for metals in plastic FCMs are listed. The uses of pigments or colorants in food contact plastics, as well as of printing inks on food packages, are regulated by dedicated standards. Additionally, a list of suggestive packaging materials is provided for ten types of foods and beverages.
Read more
Chemical Watch (November 9, 2017). “India publishes draft food packaging rules.”
FSSAI (2017). “Notice Calling for suggestions, views, comments etc from WTO-SPS Committee members on the draft Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2017.” (pdf)
