FAIRS Export Certificate Report Annual - 2023 - Processed Food GE and Vegan Labeling Requirements
Report Number: IN2023-0082 Date: January 25, 2024 Country: India Prepared By: USDA FAS Foreign Agricultural Service Source: [USDA GAIN Report](https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=FAIRS+Export+Certificate+Report+Annual_New+Delhi_India_IN2023-0082.pdf)
Processed Food GE and Vegan Labeling Requirements
Processed Food Products India does not currently require specific import certificates for processed food products. However, meat and livestock products do require export certificates from the country of origin. On August 5, 2011, the Indian government commenced enforcing the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR) (2011). The FSSAI administers the FSSR (2011), which oversees implementation of The Food Safety and Standards Act (2006). All imported processed food and beverage products must meet the requirements established by the FSSR (2011). The FAS New Delhi GAIN-INDIA | IN2022-0105 | FAIRS Annual Country Report - 2022 contains additional information on these requirements.
On October 10, 2022, the FSSAI required that all foreign food manufacturing facilities intending to export milk and meat products, egg powder, infant food,
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and nutraceuticals to India register with a competent authority. Additionally, the order requires the competent authorities of all exporting countries to submit via email to the FSSAI a list of existing manufacturers and of those who intend to export such food products to India as per the format published by the FSSAI. The FSSAI itself will load this information to its online portal. The effective date of this order is February 1, 2023 (see, GAIN-INDIA | IN2022-0086 | India’s FSSAI Requires Mandatory Registration of Foreign Food Manufacturing Facilities for the Import of Certain Categories of Foods).
On June 10, 2022, the final Food Safety and Standards (Vegan Foods) Regulation (2022) was published in the Gazette of India. The final regulations require that all food product imports labeled as “vegan” to comply with the new regulation’s clause that specifies that “no vegan food products shall be imported except with a certificate issued by the recognized authorities of the exporting countries in the format as specified by the Authority is accepted.” There was no mention of a vegan certificate requirement in the earlier notified (September 6,
- draft version of the regulation (see, GAIN-INDIA | IN2022-0057 | More
Vegan than a Vegan - India’s FSSAI Issues Regulation Requiring Vegan Certification for Food Product Imports Labeled as Vegan).
On May 5, 2022, the FSSAI published the final Food Safety and Standards (Ayurveda Aahar) Regulations (2021) in the Gazette of India (official gazette). The regulations specify the definition and standards of food prepared according to authoritative books of Ayurveda and includes general requirements related to packaging and labeling, use of additives, microbiological standards, permissible levels of contaminants, logo for use with Ayurveda Aahar and their schedules (see, GAIN-INDIA | IN2022-0054 | India’s FSSAI Notifies Final Standards for Ayurveda Foods).
Foods with Genetically Engineered (GE) Ingredients Since April 2006, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry/Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has mandated that importers of GE food and ingredients provide a declaration if the imported consignment contains any GE products as ingredients. The importer must first obtain the approval of India’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) and refer to the GEAC approval in the declaration. The reference should indicate a specific authorization number and date of the specified GE event in the consignment declaration. There is no official prescribed format for this declaration. Importers can be held liable and prosecuted for failure to properly declare a GE product if detected upon testing by food inspectors at the port-of-entry and or at any stage of the distribution/marketing chain. The only GE food products currently authorized for import into India are soybean oil derived from GE soybeans (glyphosate tolerant and five other events) and canola oil derived from GE canola (a select herbicide tolerant event) (see, GAIN-INDIA | IN2023-0073 | India - Agricultural Biotechnology Annual – 2023).
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Effective March 1, 2021, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) requires a certificate for non-genetically modified (GM) and GM-Free status for 24 agricultural crops listed in the FSSAI Order of August 21, 2020. Following this order, the FSSAI issued a series of clarifications, including one that the measure is not applicable to processed foods, and authorization for certification to be issued by state regional authorities (i.e., at the sub-state level).
On November 21, 2022, the FSSAI published draft regulations on “Genetically Modified Foods.” A similar draft regulation, published in November 2021, was withdrawn (see, GAIN-INDIA | IN2022-0113 | India Proposes Draft Regulation for Genetically Modified Food for Second Time). The November 2022 draft addresses: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) intended for food use; food ingredients produced from GMOs that contain modified DNA; and food ingredients produced from GMOs that do not contain modified DNA, including ingredients/additives/processing aids derived from GMOs. The FSSAI, however, to date has not taken any further steps toward implementation.
On January 1, 2013, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution implemented Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules (2012) following its publication in the official gazette as Notification No. G.S.R. 427(E). This notification stipulates that every package containing food derived from products of biotechnology shall bear at the top of its principal display panel the letters “GM” (see, GAIN-INDIA | IN3003 | India Mandatory GM Labeling on Packaged Food (January 15, 2013).
Source
USDA GAIN (Global Agricultural Information Network) Original source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
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*Last updated: 2026-07-18*