Food Supplement Licence in India
You need to know the following information for Food Supplement Licence in India
One of the potential threats for manufacturing and sale of food/health supplements such as “dietary food supplement”, “food supplements”, “nutritional supplements”, “health supplements” is its categorisation in the category of “Food” or “Drugs”, as there is a very thin line between “drugs/ medicines” and “nutritional supplements”. Practically, all ingredients of a nutritional supplement, known through different nomenclatures, include the ingredients which may fall into the category of drugs as well as food supplements.
For this reason, food supplement licence is mandatory.
Food Supplement Licence in India – Present Indian Law
Present Indian law for foods is contained in the (Indian) Food Safety And Standards Act, 2006, (FSS Act) under which an embargo has been placed under Section 22 of the FSS Act, stating that no person shall manufacture, distribute, sell or import any novel food, genetically modified articles of food, irradiated food, organic foods, foods for special dietary uses, functional foods, nutraceuticals, health supplements, proprietary foods and such other articles of food which the Central Government may notify, except in accordance with FSS Act or rules made there under. Prior to the FSS Act, a manufacturer had to comply with the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (PFAA) and rules framed there under.
Food Supplement Licence in India – Categorisation
The determination of the categorisation of “dietary food supplement”, “food supplements”, “nutritional supplements”, “health supplements” becomes important to identify whether a particular manufacturer or seller of the said products would become eligible for mandatory regularisation under the FSS Act, as the new Rules.
Food Supplement Licence in India – Significant Various Products
It is significant to note that various products, claiming to contain high amounts of vitamins and minerals, are being sold in the Indian market as health/food supplements. At the same time, multivitamin tablets and products containing other nutrients are being sold as drugs, with requisite licensing from the Drug authorities. This confusion, or if it can be said that the liberty taken by the manufacturers in the garb of food safety laws to avoid rigours of drug laws acquire importance, as the manufacturers and traders of food supplements may be running the risk of prosecution in case of incorrect categorisation.
This is what you need to know about major key areas of Food Supplement Licence in India.