Food Safety Regulations.pdf

EXTRAORDINARY
[PART III—SEC. 4]
Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL
1. Short title and commencement.— (1) These regulations may be called the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
(2) These regulations lay down the labelling requirements of pre-packaged food products and display of essential information relating to their manufacture, processing, storage and distribution.
(3) These regulations shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, and food business operators shall comply with all the provisions of these regulations within one year from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, except the provisions of Chapter-3 which shall be complied with from 1st January, 2022.
2. Definitions.— (1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, —
(a) “Act” means the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (34 of 2006);
(b) “Batch number” or “Lot number” or “Code number” means a numerical or alphanumeric code or a combination of both, assigned to a batch or lot of food to identify the production and distribution batch or lot of food;
(c) “Best before date” means the date which indicates the end of the period during which the food shall retain its optimum quality when stored under recommended conditions;
(d) “Catering food” means food meant for immediate consumption and served by restaurants, canteens, schools, hospitals, fast food outlets (QSR), catering service providers, caterers and other similar establishments;
(e) “Child” means a person who is below eighteen years of age as defined under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015;
(f) “Date of manufacture” means the date on which the food was manufactured;
(g) “E-commerce” means buying and selling of goods and services over digital and electronic network;
(h) “Label” means any written, printed, or graphic matter affixed to or appearing on the label of a food or accompanying a food;
(i) “Lot number” or “Batch number” or “Code number” means a numerical or alphanumeric code or a combination of both, assigned to a batch or lot of food to identify the production and distribution batch or lot of food;
(j) “Multi-unit package” means a package containing more than one unit of the same food, which may be individually wrapped or packaged or not;
(k) “Non-retail package” means a package which is not intended for retail sale to the consumer;
(l) “Packaging” or “package” means any material, including packaging materials, used for the packaging of food;
(m) “Pre-packaged food” means any food which is placed in a package of any nature, whether pre-packaged and pre-labelled or pre-wrapped, in such a manner that the contents cannot be changed without opening or changing the package and which is ready for sale to the consumer;
(n) “Principal display panel” means the part of the label that is most likely to be seen by the consumer at the time of purchase and from which the consumer can readily read the required information;
(o) “Ready-to-eat food” means food which is intended for direct human consumption without the need for cooking or heating;
(p) “Sell by date” or “Expiry date” means the last date by which the food shall be sold;
(q) “Single unit package” means a package containing a single unit of food;
(r) “Toddler” means a child who is more than twelve months but less than thirty-six months of age;
(s) “Use by date” means the date by which the food shall be consumed;
(t) “Wrapper” means any material used to enclose food for sale.