General Requirements

1.Every prepackaged food shall carry a label containing information as required here under unless otherwise provided, namely,—
2.The particulars of declaration required under these Regulations to be specified on the label shall be in English or Hindi in Devnagri script:
3.Provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent the use of any other language in addition to the language required under this regulation
4.Pre-packaged food shall not be described or presented on any label or in any labelling manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character in any respect;
5.Label in pre-packaged foods shall be applied in such a manner that they will not become separated from the container;
6.Contents on the label shall be clear, prominent, indelible and readily legible by the consumer under normal conditions of purchase and use;
7.Where the container is covered by a wrapper, the wrapper shall carry the necessary information or the label on the container shall be readily legible through the outer wrapper and not obscured by it;

Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods

In addition to the General Labelling requirements specified in 2.2.1 above every package of food shall carry the following information on the label, namely,—
The Name of Food: The name of the food shall include trade name or description of food contained in the package
List of Ingredients: Except for single ingredient foods, a list of ingredients shall be declared on the label in the following manner:—

1.The list of ingredients shall contain an appropriate title, such as the term “Ingredients”;
2.The name of Ingredients used in the product shall be listed in descending order of their composition by weight or volume, as the case may be, at the time of its manufacture;
3.A specific name shall be used for ingredients in the list of Ingredients;
Provided that for Ingredients falling in the respective classes, the following class titles may be used, namely:–

Classes	Class Titles
Edible vegetable oils/Edible vegetable fat	Edible vegetable oil/ Edible vegetable fat or both hydrogenated or Partially hydrogenated oil
Animal fat / oil other than milk fat	Give name of the source of fat. Pork fat, lard and beef fat or extracts thereof shall be declared by specific names
Starches, other than chemically modified starches	Starch
All species of fish where the fish constitutes an ingredient of another food and provided that the labelling and presentation of such food does not refer to a species of fish	Fish
All types of poultry meat where such meat constitutes an ingredient of another food and provided that the labelling and presentation of such a food does not refer to a specific type of poultry meat	Poultry Meat
All types of cheese where cheese or mixture of cheeses constitutes an ingredient of another food and provided that the labelling and presentation of such food does not refer to a specific type of cheese	Cheese
All spices and condiments and their extracts	Spices and condiments or mixed spices/ condiments as appropriate
All types of gum or preparations used in the manufacture of gum base for chewing gum	Gum Base
Anhydrous dextrose and dextrose monohydrate	Dextrose or Glucose
All types of Caseinates	Caseinates
Press, expeller or refined cocoa butter	Cocoa Butter
All crystallized fruit	Crystallized fruit
All milk and milk products derived solely from milk	Milk solids
Cocoa bean, Coconib, Cocomass, Cocoa press cakes, Cocoa powder (Fine/Dust)	Cocoa Solid

Provided further that pork fat, lard and beef fat or extract thereof shall be declared by their specific names;

4.Where an ingredient itself is the product of two or more ingredients, such a compound ingredients shall be declared in the list of ingredients, and shall be accompanied by a list, in brackets, of its ingredients in descending order of weight or volume, as the case may be:
Provided that where a compound ingredient, constitutes less than five percent of the food, the list of ingredients of the compound ingredient, other than food additive, need not to be declared;

5.Added water shall be declared in the list of ingredients except in cases where water forms part of an ingredient, such as, brine, syrup or broth, used in the compound food and so declared in the list of ingredients:
Provided that water or other volatile ingredients evaporated in the course of manufacture need not be declared;
Provided further that in the case of dehydrated or condensed food, which are intended to be reconstituted by addition of water, the ingredients in such reconstituted food shall be declared in descending order of weight or volume as the case may be, and shall contain a statement such as “Ingredients of the product when prepared in accordance with the directions on the label”;

6.Every package of food sold as a mixture or combination shall disclose the percentage of the ingredient used at the time of the manufacture of the food (including compound ingredients or categories of ingredients), if such ingredient–
•is emphasised as present on the label through words or pictures or graphics; or
•is not within the name of the food but, is essential to characterise the food and is expected to be present in the food by consumers, and if the omission of the quantitative ingredient declaration will mislead or deceive the consumer.
Provided that where the ingredient has been used as flavouring agent, the disclosure of such ingredient is not required:
Provided further that where the drained net weight is indicated on the label as required or in case of such food products where specific provisions are stipulated under these Regulations or where a pictorial representation of a serving suggestion is made for consumer information and use, the disclosure of such ingredient is not required.
Provided further that in case of any bottle containing liquid milk or liquid beverage having milk as an ingredient, soft drink, carbonated water or ready-to-serve fruit beverages, the declarations with regard to addition of fruit pulp and fruit juice shall invariably appear on the body of the bottle.

Nutritional information

Nutritional Information or nutritional facts per 100 gm or 100ml or per serving of the product shall be given on the label containing the following:—
1.energy value in kcal;
2.the amounts of protein, carbohydrate (specify quantity of sugar) and fat in gram (g) or ml;
3.the amount of any other nutrient for which a nutrition or health claim is made:
Provided that where a claim is made regarding the amount or type of fatty acids or the amount of cholesterol, the amount of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids in gram (g) and cholesterol in milligram (mg) shall be declared, and the amount of trans fatty acid in gram (g) shall be declared in addition to the other requirement stipulated above;
4.Wherever, numerical information on vitamins and minerals is declared, it shall be expressed in metric units
5.Where the nutrition declaration is made per serving, the amount in gram (g) or milliliter (ml) shall be included for reference beside the serving measureProvided that the food claimed to be enriched with nutrients, such as, minerals, proteins, vitamins, metals or their compounds, amino acids or enzymes shall give the quantities of such added nutrients on the label.Provided that —

1.the nutritional information may not be necessary, in case of foods such as raw agricultural commodities, like, wheat, rice, cereals, spices, spice mixes, herbs, condiments, table salt, sugar, jaggery, or non –nutritive products, like, soluble tea, coffee, soluble coffee, coffee-chicory mixture, packaged drinking water, packaged mineral water, alcoholic beverages or fruit and vegetables, processed and pre- packaged assorted vegetables, fruits, vegetables and products that comprise of single ingredient, pickles, papad, or foods served for immediate consumption such as served in hospitals, hotels or by food services vendors or halwais, or food shipped in bulk which is not for sale in that form to consumers
2.The compliance to quantity of declared nutrients on the label shall be according to the established practices
Explanation — For the purpose of this provision, at the time of analysis, due consideration, based on shelf-life, storage, and inherent nature of the food shall be kept in view in case of quantity declared nutrients
3.The food, in which hydrogenated vegetable fats or bakery shortening is used shall declare on the label that ‘hydrogenated vegetable fats or bakery shortening used- contains trans fats
4.Edible vegetable oils, fats including hydrogenated vegetable oils and processed and packaged foods with declared shelf life will have the following declaration on the label:(i) Total trans fat content not more than____________percent by weight.(ii) Total saturated fat content not more than__________percent by weight.

(a).Health claims” means any representation that states, suggests or implies that a relationship exists between a food or a constituent of that food and health and include nutrition claims which describe the physiological role of the nutrient in growth, development and normal functions of the body, other functional claims concerning specific beneficial effect of the consumption of food or its constituents, in the context of the total diet, on normal functions or biological activities of the body and such claims relate to a positive contribution to health or to the improvement of function or to modifying or preserving health, or disease, risk reduction claim relating to the consumption of a food or food constituents, in the context of the total diet, to the reduced risk of developing a disease or health related condition;
(b).“Nutrition claim” means any representation which states, suggests or implies that a food has particular nutritional properties which are not limited to the energy value but include protein, fat carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals
(c).“Risk reduction” in the context of health claims means significantly altering a major risk factor for a disease or health-related condition
Provided further that in the case of returnable new glass bottle manufactured and used for packing of such beverages on or after 19th March 2009, the list of ingredient and nutritional information shall be given on the bottle.
Provided further that, a health claim of ‘trans fat free’ may be made in cases where the trans fat is less than 0.2 gm per serving of food and the claim ‘saturated fat free’ may be made in cases where the saturated fat does not exceed 0.1 gm per 100 gm or 100 ml of food.
For the purpose of regulation 2.2.2 (3)

Declaration regarding Veg or Non veg

1.Every package of “Non Vegetarian” food shall bear a declaration to this effect made by a symbol and colour code as stipulated below to indicate that the product is Non-Vegetarian Food. The symbol shall consist of a brown colour filled circle having a diameter not less than the minimum size specified in the Table mentioned in the regulation 2.2.2 (4) (iv), inside a square with brown outline having sides double the diameter of the circle
2.Where any article of food contains egg only as Non-Vegetarian ingredient, the manufacturer, or packer or seller may give declaration to this effect in addition to the said symbol
3.Every package of Vegetarian Food shall bear a declaration to this effect by a symbol and colour code as stipulated below for this purpose to indicate that the product is Vegetarian Food. The symbol shall consist of a green colour filled circle, having a diameter not less than the minimum size specified in the Table below, inside the square with green outline having size double the diameter of the circle

4.Size of the logo

Area of prinicipal display panel	Minimum size of diameters in mm
Upto 100 cms. Square	3
Above 100 cms. square upto 500 cms square	4
Above 500 cms square upto 2500 cms square	6
Above 2500 cms. Square	8

The symbol shall be prominently displayed
1.on the package having contrast background on principal display panel;
2.just close in proximity to the name or brand name of the product
3.on the labels, containers, pamphlets, leaflets, advertisements in any media
Provided also that the provisions of regulation 2.2.2(4) shall not apply in respect of mineral water or packaged drinking water or carbonated water or alcoholic drinks, or liquid milk and milk powders

Declaration regarding Food Additives–

(1).For food additives falling in the respective classes and appearing in lists of food additives permitted for use in foods generally, the following class titles shall be used together with the specific names or recognized international numerical identifications:
Acidity Regulator, Acids, Anticaking Agent, Antifoaming Agent, Antioxidant, Bulking Agent, Colour, Colour Retention Agent, Emulsifier, Emulsifying Salt, Firming Agent, Flour Treatment Agent, Flavour Enhancer, Foaming Agent, Gelling Agent, Glazing Agent, Humectant, Preservative, Propellant, Raising Agent, Stabilizer, Sweetener, Thickener:
(2).Addition of colours and/or Flavours—
• Extraneous addition of colouring matter to be mentioned on the label – Where an extraneous colouring matter has been added to any article of food, there shall be displayed one of the following
statements in capital letters, just beneath the list of the ingredients on the label attached to any package of food so coloured, namely:
CONTAINS PERMITTED NATURAL COLOUR(S)
OR CONTAINS PERMITTED SYNTHETIC FOOD COLOUR(S)
OR CONTAINS PERMITTED NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC FOOD COLOUR(S)
Provided that where such a statement is displayed along with the name or INS no of the food colour, the colour used in the product need not be mentioned in the list of ingredients.
• Extraneous addition of flavouring agents to be mentioned on the label.
Where an extraneous flavouring agent has been added to any article of food, there shall be written just beneath the list of ingredients on the label attached to any package of food so flavoured, a statement in capital letters as below :
CONTAINS ADDED FLAVOUR (specify type of flavouring agent as per Regulation 3.1.10(1) of Food Safety and Standards (Food product standards and food additive) Regulation, 2011
• In case both colour and flavour are used in the product, one of the following combined statements in capital letters shall be displayed, just beneath the list of ingredients on the label attached to any package of food so coloured and flavoured, namely :—
CONTAINS PERMITTED NATURAL C0LOUR(S) AND ADDED FLAVOUR(S)
OR CONTAINS PERMITTED SYNTHETIC FOOD COLOUR(S) AND ADDED FLAVOUR(S)
OR CONTAINS PERMITTED NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC FOOD COLOUR(S) AND ADDED FLAVOUR(S)
Provided that in case of artificial flavouring substances, the label shall declare the common name of the flavours, but in case of the natural flavouring substances or nature identical flavouring substances, the class name of flavours shall be mentioned on the label and it shall comply with the requirement of label declaration as specified under the regulation 2.2.2 (5) (ii)
Note: — When statement regarding addition of colours and/or flavours is displayed on the label in accordance with regulation 2.2.2(5)(ii) and regulation 3.2.1 of Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additive) Regulation, 2011, addition of such colours and/or flavours need not be mentioned in the list of ingredients. Also, in addition to above statement, the common name or class name of the flavour shall also be mentioned on label.
Provided further that when combined declaration of colours and flavours are given, the International Numerical Identification number of colours used shall also be indicated either under the list of ingredients or along with the declaration.
Provided also further that every package of synthetic food colours preparation and mixture shall bear a label upon which is printed a declaration giving the percentage of total dye content

Name and complete address of the manufacturer

(1).The name and complete address of the manufacturer and the manufacturing unit if these are located at different places and in case the manufacturer is not the packer or bottler, the name and complete address of the packing or bottling unit as the case may be shall be declared on every package of food;
(2).Where an article of food is manufactured or packed or bottled by a person or a company under the written authority of some other manufacturer or company, under his or its brand name, the label shall carry the name and complete address of the manufacturing or packing or bottling unit as the case may be, and also the name and complete address of the manufacturer or the company, for and on whose behalf it is manufactured or packed or bottled;
(3).Where an article of food is imported into India, the package of food shall also carry the name and complete address of the importer in India.
Provided further that where any food article manufactured outside India is packed or bottled in India, the package containing such food article shall also bear on the label, the name of the country of origin of the food article and the name and complete address of the importer and the premises of packing or bottling in India.

Net quantity

(1).Net quantity by weight or volume or number, as the case may be, shall be declared on every package of food; and
(2).In addition to the declaration of net quantity, a food packed in a liquid medium shall carry a declaration of the drained weight of the food
Explanation 1.— For the purposes of this requirement the expression “liquid medium” include water, aqueous solutions of sugar and salt, fruit and vegetable juices or vinegar, either singly or in combination.
Explanation 2.— In declaring the net quantity of the commodity contained in the package, the weight of the wrappers and packaging materials shall be excluded:
(3).Where a package contains a large number of small items of confectionery, each of which is separately wrapped and it is not reasonably practicable to exclude from the net weight of the commodity, the weight of such immediate wrappers of all the items of the confectionery contained in the package, the net weight declared on the package containing such confectionary or on the label thereof may include the weight of such immediate wrapper if the total weight of such immediate wrapper does not exceed –
eight per cent, Where such immediate wrapper is a waxed paper or other paper with wax or aluminium foil under strip; or
six per cent. In case of other paper of the total net weight of all the items of confectionery contained in the package minus the weight of immediate wrapper

Lot/Code/Batch identification

A batch number or code number or lot number which is a mark of identification by which the food can be traced in the manufacture and identified in the distribution, shall be given on the label.
Provided that in case of packages containing bread and milk including sterilised milk, particulars under this clause shall not be required to be given on the label.

Date of manufacture or packing.—

The date, month and year in which the commodity is manufactured, packed or pre-packed, shall be given on the label:
Provided that the month and the year of manufacture, packing or pre-packing shall be given if the “Best Before Date” of the products is more than three months:
Provided further that in case any package contains commodity which has a short shelf life of less than three months, the date, month and year in which the commodity is manufactured or prepared or pre-packed shall be mentioned on the label.

Best Before and Use By Date

(1).the month and year in capital letters upto which the product is best for consumption, in the following manner, namely:—
“BEST BEFORE ……. MONTHS AND YEAR
OR “BEST BEFORE ………. MONTHS FROM PACKAGING
OR “BEST BEFORE …………MONTHS FROM MANUFACTURE
(2).In case of package or bottle containing sterilised or Ultra High Temperature treated milk, soya milk, flavoured milk, any package containing bread, dhokla, bhelpuri, pizza, doughnuts, khoa, paneer, or any uncanned package of fruits, vegetable, meat, fish or any other like commodity, the declaration be made as follows:—
“BEST BEFORE ……….DATE/MONTH/YEAR”
OR “BEST BEFORE……..DAYS FROM PACKAGING”
OR “BEST BEFORE …….. DAYS FROM MANUFACTURE”
Note: •blanks be filled up
•Month and year may be used in numerals
• Year may be given in two digits
(3).On packages of Aspartame, instead of Best Before date, Use by date/recommended last consumption date/expiry date shall be given, which shall not be more than three years from the date of packing;
(4).In case of infant milk substitute and infant foods instead of Best Before date, Use by date/ recommended last consumption date/expiry date shall be given,Provided further that the declaration of best before date for consumption shall not be applicable to
• wines and liquors
• alcoholic beverages containing 10 percent or more by volume of alcohol
Provided further that above provisions except net weight/net content, nutritional information, manufacturer’s name and address, date of manufacture and “best before” shall not apply in respect of carbonated water (plain soda and potable water impregnated with carbon dioxide under pressure) packed in returnable glass bottles

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Country of origin for imported food

1.The country of origin of the food shall be declared on the label of food imported into India
2.When a food undergoes processing in a second country which changes its nature, the country in which the processing is performed shall be considered to be the country of origin for the purposes of labelling

Instructions for use

Instructions for use, including reconstitution, where applicable, shall be included on the label, if necessary, to ensure correct utilization of the food.