FSSAI Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) First Amendment Regulations, 2026: What Businesses Need to Know

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has formally notified the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) First Amendment Regulations, 2026, bearing reference number F.No. STD/SP-08/A1.2022/N-01, dated 24th March, 2026. This notification marks the culmination of a regulatory process that began when a draft amendment was first published on 30th November, 2022 in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4, under the same file reference.

The draft regulations invited public objections and suggestions within a window of sixty days from the date the Gazette copies were made publicly available, which was 5th December, 2022. After duly considering all objections and suggestions received from stakeholders, FSSAI has exercised its authority under clause (k) of sub-section (2) of section 92 read with section 23 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (34 of 2006), with prior approval from the Central Government, to bring these amendments into force.

Effective Date: 1st July, 2027. All food businesses are advised to begin compliance preparations well in advance of this date.

The parent regulations being amended are the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, which were originally published on 17th November, 2020 and were last amended vide notification number F. No. SS-T017/1/2023-Standard-FSSAI, dated 8th August, 2025.

Key Amendments at a Glance

The 2026 amendment introduces modifications across several provisions of the 2020 regulations. These changes span nutritional labelling, logo display requirements, non-retail container norms, fortification declarations, artificial sweetener warnings, and inclusive language updates. Below is a structured breakdown of each significant change.

Amendment to Regulation 5: Nutritional Labelling and RDA Declarations

Exemption for Infant Nutrition Products

One of the most practically significant changes concerns per-serve percentage contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) and number of servings per pack. Under the existing framework of regulation 5, sub-regulation (3), clause (b), sub-clause (iv), a new proviso has been added:

"Provided further that per serve percentage (%) contribution to Recommended dietary allowances (RDA) and number of servings per pack may not be given for Infant Nutrition products as defined under the Food Safety and Standards (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Regulations, 2020."

This carve-out acknowledges the unique nature of infant nutrition formulations, which are governed by a dedicated regulatory regime and may not be adequately captured within the standard RDA framework designed for general consumers.

Revised Definition of Minimally Processed Foods

A substantive revision has been made to regulation 5, sub-regulation (3), clause (c), sub-clause (i), which now reads:

"(i) Raw agricultural minimally processed products such as wheat, rice, cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables and/or products that comprise a single ingredient.
Explanation. — Minimally processed foods are the ones that are slightly altered for the main purpose of preservation but which do not substantially change the nutritional content of the food, which may involve cleaning and removing inedible or unwanted parts, grinding, refrigeration, pasteurization, fermentation, freezing, and vacuum-packaging."