For the first time, FSSAI has gazette notified the standards for formulated supplements with all appropriate nutritional value for children in the age group of two to three years. So far, the country’s apex food regulator had standards for food products meant for infants until the age of two. The current amendment will be the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Eleventh Amendment Regulations, 2018.
The notified gazette said, “Formulated supplements for children shall be of appropriate nutritional quality to provide additional energy and nutrients to complement the family foods derived from the local produce by providing those nutrients that are either lacking or are present in insufficient quantities. These foods may be presented in any other age-suitable food format.”
The apex regulator has permitted use of basic raw materials and ingredients which are suitable and can be included like cereals, pulses and legumes, oil seed flours and oil seed protein products, animal source foods, fats and oil, fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products and other ingredients to improve the nutritional quality, digestible carbohydrates to increase energy density of foods, protein isolates, concentrates and hydrolysates and probiotic and prebiotic ingredients.
The gazette mentioned the use of carbohydrates such as sucrose, dextrose and dextrins or maltodextrin, maltose and lactose, provided that the energy from added sugar per 100 g of the product shall not exceed 10 per cent of energy of the product.
The new regulation also provided the maximum and minimum values for various components, including antioxidants, calcium, zinc, vitamins, minerals, acidity regulators, anti-caking agents and added flavours.
Further, the products shall be prepared with special care under good manufacturing practices, so that residues of those pesticides which may be required in the production, storage or processing of the raw materials or the finished food ingredients do not remain, or, if technically unavoidable, are reduced to the maximum extent possible.
As for the packaging aspect, the food shall be packed in hermetically sealed, clean and sound containers or in flexible packs made from paper, polymer and/or metallic film as per the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, so as to protect the contents from deterioration.
The product label shall indicate that the food is a formulated supplement for children and also state that they are not energy food or health food written on these product packets. The label of this food shall not refer to malnourished children and clearly indicate the major sources of protein and product is recommended for children age above 24 months till 36 months, declaring information relating to allergens.
