The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Friday proposed to prohibit the addition of sucrose and fructose to food products intended for infants up to six months of age. It has also notified draft amendments proposing maximum residue limits (MRLs) for two pesticides, Acetamiprid and Imidacloprid, in tea.
The food regulator has published a draft amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Regulations, 2020, that seeks to ensure that infant nutrition products are formulated in accordance with age-appropriate nutritional requirements, with an emphasis on minimising exposure to added sugars during the early stages of life.
“The measure is also intended to support broader public health efforts to address concerns associated with early exposure to added sugars, including dietary risk factors linked to childhood obesity and related health challenges,” stated the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Published for public consultation, the draft notification invites objections and suggestions from stakeholders within 60 days from October 16, the date on which copies of the Official Gazette containing the notification were made available to the public.
In another move, FSSAI has proposed MRLs of 20 mg/kg (milligrams per kilogram), or 20 ppm (parts per million), for Acetamiprid and 50 mg/kg, or 50 ppm, for Imidacloprid in tea. “The proposed limits are intended to provide clearly defined regulatory benchmarks for pesticide residues, facilitating compliance, monitoring and enforcement of food safety requirements, subject to finalisation of the draft regulations,” it stated.
It said that the proposed MRL of 20 ppm for Acetamiprid in tea is lower than the corresponding limits of 30 ppm in Japan and 50 ppm in the United States of America, while the proposed limit for Imidacloprid has also been formulated with reference to international Codex standards.
“Earlier regulatory measures also included the delisting of 13 pesticides identified as having higher toxicity, reflecting the continuing emphasis on appropriate regulatory safeguards and consumer protection,” stated FSSAI. “At less than 0.5 kg per hectare, India’s average pesticide use is significantly below the estimated global average of 2.38 kg per hectare. It is also lower than the levels reported in several countries, including Colombia, Brazil and the United States of America.”
