Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has published the draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2026 in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4. The draft has been prepared with the prior approval of the Central Government. Objections and suggestions, if any, are to be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer, FSSAI, FDA Bhawan, Kotla Road, New Delhi – 110002, or by email at regulation@fssai.gov.in, within sixty days from the date the Gazette copies are made available to the public. Objections or suggestions received before the expiry of the said period will be considered by FSSAI.

The following amendments are proposed to the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.

Under Regulation 2.2, a new Sub-regulation 2.2.10 is inserted after Sub-regulation 2.2.9 relating to “Solvent Extracted Crude Vegetable Oils (not for direct human consumption)”, introducing standards for Minor Seed Oils, namely Chilli seed oil, Muskmelon seed oil, Okra seed oil, and Tomato seed oil. The sub-regulation specifies that the material shall be obtained from clean, sound, and mature seeds of the specified plant(s) using methods that do not alter the inherent qualities of the oil. The oil shall be clear and free from rancidity, adulterants, sediment, suspended and other foreign matter, separated water, and added colouring and flavouring substances or mineral oil.

The prescribed quality standards for both Cold Pressed/Virgin and Refined variants are: Matter volatile at 105°C – maximum 0.2%; Insoluble impurities – maximum 0.05%; Soap content – maximum 0.005%; Acid value (mg KOH/g fat) – 4.0 (Cold Pressed/Virgin) and 0.6 (Refined); Iron (Fe) – maximum 5.0 mg/kg (Cold Pressed/Virgin) and 2.5 mg/kg (Refined); Copper (Cu) – maximum 0.4 mg/kg (Cold Pressed/Virgin) and 0.1 mg/kg (Refined). No turbidity shall be present after keeping the filtered sample at 30°C for 24 hours, and the test for Argemone oil shall be negative. Where the oil is obtained by solvent (hexane) extraction, it shall be supplied for human consumption only after refining and shall conform to the standard under Regulation 2.2.1(16); such refined oil shall not contain hexane exceeding 5.0 mg/kg, and oil obtained by the pressed method shall be free from hexane residues. Refined oil may contain food additives permitted in Appendix A; no additives are permitted in pressed oil. The product shall comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011, the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 (Schedule 4), and shall be labelled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. Under Regulation 2.3, a new Sub-regulation 2.3.66 is inserted after Sub-regulation 2.3.65 relating to “Colouring Foods”, introducing standards for Edible Seeds for direct human consumption, defined as seeds obtained from vegetables or oilseeds.

The product may be raw, roasted, coated, and/or salted, and may contain sweeteners, spices, condiments, and other suitable ingredients. The product shall be sound, whole, clean, sufficiently dried, uniform in colour, and free from living or dead insects, rancidity, visible foreign matter, visible moulds, rodent contamination, and added colouring. Two types are recognised: Edible Vegetable Seeds (including seeds from watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon, pumpkin, etc.) and Edible Oilseeds (including seeds from sunflower, sesame, flaxseed, etc.). The product shall conform to the following requirements: Moisture (per cent by mass) – maximum 8.00%; Free fatty acid (per cent on dry mass basis) – maximum 1.25%; Foreign article inorganic/organic – maximum 0.1%. Under Appendix A, Table 14, in Food Category System 14.2.3 (Grape wines), the following food additive entry is inserted after “Mixture of Mono and diglycerides of oleic Acid”:

“Potassium polyaspartate — INS No. 456 — Recommended Maximum Level: 100 mg/kg”