Indian Food Safety and Standards Bill 2005 signed into law.
October 12, 2006
October 12, 2006 – Mumbai, India - GCI Nutrients-India reports that the Indian Food Safety and Standards Bill 2005 was recently signed into law by the President of India. The original bill as introduced in the Indian Parliament by the Ministry of Food Processing Industry can be found at: http://mofpi.nic.in/foodsfty.pdf
It has not been decided who will govern the new act - the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Food Processing Industry. Although the Ministry of Health will most likely be involved in governing the new regulation, chances are that the Ministry of Food Processing Industry will also likely stake a claim to regulate it. The Ministry of Health will issue official notification regarding the new rule so that all those manufacturers who are currently manufacturing these products under food licenses under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, will be able to apply for fresh licenses under the new rule. The companies will not be under the threat of revoking their current license.
The Indian Food Safety and Standards Bill 2005 identifies the current deficiencies in monitoring that currently exist and provides suitable, relevant and meaningful regulations for different FOOD and FOOD-related products. In essence, the bill creates a third category in India for “Dietary Supplements / Nutraceuticals / Functional Foods / Foods for special dietary application.”
The new rule defines what health/nutritional claims can be made and which cannot be made. Manufacturers will be encouraged to do product R&D/new product development, develop reliable testing protocols, carry out various kinds of clinical studies and establish structure-function claims based on these studies.
Dr. Bhushan Karnik, President of GCI Nutrients-India, reports that this bill will have as significant an impact on the Indian dietary supplement industry as the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) has had for the United States dietary supplement industry. The Indian bill will open up tremendous opportunities for dietary supplement companies throughout the world that want to sell to the Indian market.
The following played an influential role in the passage of this bill:
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Director General
- Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) - Dr. V. Prakash, Director
- Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) (www.ciionline.org)
- Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA) (www.hadsa.com)
- International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA) (www.iadsa.org)
- Natural Products Association (formerly the National Nutritional Foods Association)
(www.naturalproductsassoc.org)
For more information, please contact David Pihlcrantz, Greater Continents WorldWide, Inc.
Email: [email protected].< font style="font-family:'Arial';font-size:10pt;">
GCI Nutrients-India is a subsidiary of Greater Continents WorldWide, Inc. Greater Continents WorldWide, Inc. is a holding company for various firms selling dietary supplement raw materials and providing contract manufacturing services throughout the world.
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