Non-dairy and plant-based items that are labelled as dairy products must be removed from all e-commerce platforms, according to a directive from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The food authority sent out a notification instructing online food vendors not to sell such dairy substitutes under the dairy heading. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) dairy alternatives as well as new-age businesses will be impacted by the new fssai registration standards. Along with FMCG behemoths like Sofit (Hershey’s) and Amul, these alternatives include Raw Pressery, Epigamia, Urban Platter, Goodmylk, and Raw Pressery. Therefore, the fssai orders or recommendations for non-dairy products or milk products are discussed in this blog of food license consultant of fssai food license.
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What is covered by the notification of FSSAI registration and license?
- The term “dairy” has a number of exceptions, according to the FSSAI. The adage could be used to products like peanut butter, coconut milk, and others. Furthermore, the phrase “curd” includes non-dairy items like soybean curd for fssai registration and does not only apply to dairy products.
- According to the notification, e-commerce businesses will be given 15 days to improve or modify product labelling and adhere to the 2011 Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations if they are found guilty during the inquiry. So if you want to Apply for food license kindly contact fssai food license agency.
Need for clarity of Fssai registration license notice
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) stated that in the event of any violations, FPOs may be given 15 days to change their product labels.
- These actions will guarantee that such defaulting FBOs will be subject to appropriate enforcement action in accordance with the terms of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2005.
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) stated that use of any dairy terms for a product that is not milk/a milk product or a composite milk product (e.g. plant based products / beverages) is prohibited and any such action is in contravention of regulations if you had foscos registration. This is in accordance with the general standards for milk and milk products under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011.
- The notice is not a major source of concern for e-commerce platforms relying on consumer electronics and apparel to drive their sales. However, one cannot say the same for plant-based and dairy alternative startups. Further, such platforms rely on the major e-commerce platforms to sell their products and for this you should have fssai registration.
- If e-commerce platforms remove these businesses’ products from the dairy category and place them in a newly created “non-dairy” category, product discovery may suffer, resulting in a drop in sales.
- The food safety authority FSSAI instructed online retailers to remove immediately from their catalogues any non-dairy and plant-based beverages that are labelled as “dairy” items.
- In a statement, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said that states should “examine the usage of dairy terminology on the labels of plant-based beverages and food products for foscos registration. Since many of these goods are offered online by Food Business Operators (FBOs), the FSSAI has ordered all e-commerce platforms to immediately remove any products that may be in violation of the rules governing the use of dairy “terms” from their online platforms.
- Apply for a food license to receive these benefits since the FSSAI has further ordered that no more of the defaulting items advertised on the online marketplaces will be permitted for sale in the future.
- State food safety agencies have been instructed to look into any instances of FBOs using dairy terminology to describe non-dairy or plant-based goods.
- The international accepted principle that dairy terms were being traditionally used in their nomenclature and that such products are not a substitute for milk or milk products allows for exceptions to be made for the use of dairy terminology in the nomenclature of some products, such as coconut milk, peanut butter, etc.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for fssai registration has directed all e-commerce platforms to remove non-dairy and plant-based items that are sold on their respective platforms and classified as dairy products.
- The food regulator emphasized that the term “dairy” has several limitations and can be used for items like coconut milk, peanut butter, and others. According to the FSSAI, the term “curd” cannot just refer to dairy products because it also refers to non-dairy items like soybean curd.
- State food safety departments have been tasked with looking into and identifying specific instances of violations by ecommerce platforms by the governing body of the fssai registration license.
- FSSAI has not, however, made it clear which specific plant-based or non-dairy product it is aiming at. Oat milk, rice milk, walnut milk, flax milk, soy milk, and other products are currently on the market and advertise themselves as alternatives to cow and buffalo milk. The decision affects online shopping sites including Amazon India, Flipkart, Big Basket, and Grofers, among others. It might have an effect on D2C dairy substitutes like Raw Pressery, Epigamia, Urban Platter, and Goodmylk, as well as large FMCG companies like Sofit (Hershey’s) and Amul.
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Outcome
Therefore, FSSAI has informed online retailers to remove non-dairy items that have been listed as dairy. The notice also makes no indication of the consequences for online retailers who disobey the notice’s requirements. While the aforementioned notice may not be a major source of concern for ecommerce platforms that primarily rely on clothing and consumer electronics to drive their sales, it will be interesting to see how startups that sell plant-based or dairy-alternative products respond since they primarily rely on these ecommerce platforms.
Ecommerce platforms may hinder product discovery, resulting in a decline in overall sales, if they move these companies’ products from the “dairy” section to a newly created “non-dairy” category. We really hope you liked reading our blog and will spread the word about it on other social media platforms. If you have any questions about FSSAI licenses, feel free to contact our food license consultant.