(1)   in regulation 2.3,

(a)   in sub-regulation 2.3.23 relating to Synthetic Syrup for use in Dispensers for carbonated water,

(i) in clause 1 the word “nutritive sweeteners” shall be substituted with the word “sweeteners”.

(ii) in clause 2, the words “The total soluble solid content (m/m) of the product shall not be less than 30 percent” shall be omitted.

(b) in sub regulation 2.3.28 relating to Culinary Pastes / Fruits and Vegetable Sauces Other Than Tomato Sauce and Soya Sauce, after the table provided at serial no. 2, the following shall be inserted, namely;

“Note: These limit of acidity (%) shall not be applicable for retort/aseptically processed products.”

(2) in regulation 2.4,

(a)   in sub regulation 2.4.21 relating to ‘Standards of Whole Maize (Corn) Flour’, in the table under clause (3), after the row (6) relating to particle size, the following shall be inserted, namely;

(b)   in sub-regulation 2.4.34 relating to ‘Standards of Ragi Flour’, in the table under clause (2), after the serial no. (vi) relating to Uric acid (mg per kg), maximum and the entries relating thereto, the following shall be inserted, namely;

(c)    in sub-regulation 2.4.34 relating to ‘Standards of Ragi Flour’, in the table under clause (2), for the entries at serial no. (v) relating to particle size, percent, the following shall be substituted, namely;

(d) in sub-regulation 2.4.38 relating to ‘Standards of Mixed Millet Flour’, in the table under clause (2), for the entries at serial no. 1 relating to Moisture, % by mass, the following shall be substituted, namely;

(e) after the sub regulation 2.4.40 relating to ‘Papad”, the following shall be inserted, namely;

      “2.4.41 Flattened rice

(1)   The flattened rice shall be prepared from sound good quality paddy. The beaten rice shall be natural in colour, unstained, free from live infestation, moulds and fungi. It shall be free from paddy, paddy husks, any extraneous matter like dirt, stones, rat and insect dropping and non-food grains. It should be free from other food grains. Before packing it shall be sieved to remove all fine powder.

(2)   It shall have pleasant taste and flavour. It shall not be musty and shall be free from any unpleasant, objectionable taste and flavour.

(3)   It shall conform to the following standards:

(4)   In addition to the above, flattened rice shall comply with the provisions of Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulation, 2011 as applicable.

2.4.42 Rice flour

(1)   Rice flour shall be white to off white powder. It shall be free flowing with characteristic odour and no off odour.  It shall be free from foreign matter.

(2)   Rice flour shall conform to the following standards-

(3)   In addition to the above, rice flour shall comply with the provisions of Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulation, 2011 as applicable.”

(3)      in regulation 2.6,

(a)     in sub-regulation 2.6.1, for the clause (8) relating to ‘Standards of Canned Fishery Products’, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“8. Canned Fishery Products:

(a) Canned fishery products means canned finfish, crustaceans and molluscs solid packed or packed in oil, water or other suitable medium.

(b) Description

(i) Product Definition

Canned fishery products are obtained from the finfish, crustaceans and molluscs.

(ii) Process Definition

Canned fishery products are packed in hermetically sealed containers and shall have received a processing treatment sufficient to ensure commercial sterility.

(iii) Presentation

(1) The product shall be presented in one of the following packing media: own juice, brine or water, edible oil, tomato sauce or curry.

(2) The can shall not show any visible external defects like denting, paneling, swelling or rusting.

(3) The contents of the can, on opening shall not display any appreciable disintegration. Pieces from which portions have separated out would be treated as disintegrated units. The percentage of detached portion of fish calculated on the basis of the drained mass shall not exceed 5 percent by mass based on the average of 5 cans.

(4) The product shall have the odor, flavor and color characteristic of the species.

(5) The canned shrimp product may be presented as:

(a) Peeled shrimp- shrimp which have been headed and peeled without removal of the dorsal tract;

(b) Cleaned or de-veined – peeled shrimp which have had the back cut open and the dorsal tract removed at least up to the last segment next to the tail. The portion of the cleaned or de–veined shrimp shall make up 95% of the shrimp contents;

(c) Broken shrimp – more than 10% of the shrimp contents consist of pieces of peeled shrimp of less than four segments with or without the vein removed;

(d) Canned shrimp may be designated as to size in accordance with the actual count range declared on the label.

(c) Requirements. -

(i) Raw Material

1. Fish

The material used for preparation of canned finfish shall be from fresh fish of a quality fit to be sold fresh for human consumption.

Heads and gills shall be completely removed, scales and tail may be removed. The fish may be eviscerated. If eviscerated it shall be practically free from visceral parts other than roe, milt or kidney. If ungutted, it shall be practically free from undigested feed or used feed.

2. Shrimp

Shrimp shall be of a quality fit to be sold fresh for human consumption.

3. Crab meat

Canned crab meat shall be prepared from crab of the species specified, which are alive immediately prior to the commencement of processing and of a quality suitable for human consumption.

4. Mussels

The mussels shall be of fresh quality and free from any evidence of spoilage and degradation.

5. Squid Rings

Squid rings shall be prepared from fresh quality whole cleaned squids without any evidence of spoilage and deterioration.

(ii) Other Ingredients

The packing medium and all other ingredients used shall be of food grade quality and conform to all applicable standards prescribed in these regulations.

(iii) Decomposition

The raw material (fish) shall not contain more than 50 mg/Kg of histamine based on the average of the sample unit tested. This shall apply only to species of fish with potential to form hazardous level of histamine as mentioned in Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011.

(iv) Final Product

a.       The product shall be free from foreign materials, filth and from grittiness.

b.      The drained weight of the final product shall not be less than 70% of water holding capacity of the can.

c.       The exterior of finished product (can) shall be free from rust, dents or bulging and buckling

d.      The head space shall be in the range of 5-10 mm for round cans.

e.       The percentage of sodium chloride in the final product of sardine and mackerel shall be 3.5 percent in the case of brine treated cans. The acidity of brine as citric acid anhydrous shall be between 0.06 and 0.20 percent (m/v).

(v) Contaminants, Toxins and Residues. -

The products covered in this standard shall comply with Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011.

The products covered in this standard shall comply with the microbiological requirements given in Appendix B of these regulations.

(vi) Food Additives. -

Only the food additives permitted under these regulations shall be used.

(vii) Hygienic. -

The product shall be prepared and handled in accordance with the guidelines provided in Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 and any other such guidance provided from time to time under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006.

(viii) Packaging and Labelling. -

(a) Canned products shall be packed in suitable containers, free from rust and hermetically sealed. Cans shall be lacquered, the lacquer used shall be non-toxic and shall be of such quality that it does not impart any foreign taste and smell to the contents of the cans and does not peel off during processing and storage of the product. The lacquer shall not be soluble in oil or brine.

(b) The provisions laid down under Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulation, 2018 and Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, shall apply to the pre-packaged product.

(a)      in sub-regulation 2.6.1.14 relating to ‘Standards of Fish Pickles’, in clause (c), in the Table relating to Requirements for Fish Pickles, for the entries against serial number 3, the following shall be substituted, namely;

in regulation 2.9 after sub-regulation 2.9.30 relating to ‘Edible Common Salt’, after clause (6), the following shall be inserted, namely;

“(7) Edible Rock Salt

Edible Rock salt (Pink salt and Sendha salt) means crystalline solid material obtained from mining of saline rocks. It shall be whitish, pink or grey in colour and free from visible contamination, clay, grit or other extraneous adulterants or impurities.

It shall conform to the following standards namely:-

(8) Edible Black Salt

Edible Black Salt means crystalline solid material prepared by treating common edible salt/rock salt with sodium sulfate, sodium bisulfate, ferric sulfate either singly or in combination. It shall be grey or black in colour and shall be free from any visible contaminants, clay, grit or other extraneous adulterants or impurities.

It shall confirm to the following standards namely:-

(5) (a) in sub-regulation 2.10.6 relating to Beverages Non-alcoholic:

(i) for clause 1 relating to Carbonated Water, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“1. Carbonated Beverages means Beverages containing water conforming to the standards prescribed for Packaged Drinking Water or mineral water under Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, with added carbon dioxide under pressure and shall contain any of the ingredients as specified in sub-clause (1), singly or in combination:”

(i)        in sub clause (1) of clause 1 relating to Carbonated Water, in the proviso starting with words “Provided further…...” the word ‘water’ shall be substituted with the word ‘beverages’.

(ii)      after clause 1 relating to Carbonated Beverages as so renamed, the following shall be inserted, namely;

“1a. Carbonated Water means product containing water conforming to the standards prescribed for Packaged Drinking Water or mineral water under Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, with added carbon dioxide under pressure.”

(iv) in sub-clause (IV) of clause 2 relating to Caffeinated Beverages, the word ‘Water’ shall be substituted with the word ‘beverages’.

(b) in sub-regulation 2.10.8 relating to Packaged Drinking Water (other than Mineral Water) after the Table 3, for the Note, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Note: where water for use in a food product is specified to be conforming to the standards of Packaged Drinking Water, in such cases the minimum limit specified for calcium, magnesium and TDS shall not apply.”

(6) in Chapter 3 relating to SUBSTANCES ADDED TO FOOD,

(a)  in appendix A, Table 14 relating to Beverages, excluding dairy products, in the Food Category system 14.2.3 (Grape Wines), against the food additive Diammonium diphosphate, INS No. 342(ii), in column (6) relating to Note, the words “(for sparkling wines)” shall be omitted.

(b) in appendix A, Table 14 relating to Beverages, excluding dairy products, in the Food Category system 14.2.4, Wines (other than grape), in column 3, after the food additive ‘SULFITES’ and the entries relating thereto in columns (4) to (6), the following shall be inserted, namely;

(c)  For the food additive, INS 342(ii), the words Diammonium diphosphate, Diammonium orthophosphate shall be substituted with Diammonium Hydrogen phosphate throughout the FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011.

(7) in Chapter 3, Appendix B, -

(a)    In Table 1(A),

(i)     for serial no. 8, the words “Commercially Sterile**” shall be omitted.

(ii)   The footnote under the table, starting with words “**Commercial…” and ending with the words “…Examination of Food.” shall be omitted.

(b)   In Table 1(B),

(i)     the column with heading “Clostridium botulinum” shall be omitted;

(ii)   for Serial no. 8, all columns shall be merged and substituted with the word “Commercially Sterile*”;

(iii)  for Serial no. 14, for the entry in column related to “c” under “Listeria monocytogenes” shall be substituted with “0”;

(iv) in the row relating to ‘Test Methods’ for the column relating to “Escherichia coli”, the entry “ISO 16649-2” shall be substituted with “ISO 16649-3”;

(v)   under the Table, the following footnote shall be inserted, namely, -

“*Commercial sterility should be established as per APHA (2015). Canned Foods—Tests for Commercial Sterility. Compendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Food.”

(c)    In Table 2(A),

(i)     in the column relating to Escherichia Coli, for the entry under “m” for Limit (cfu), against serial no.11 relating to ‘All other cheeses categories including fresh cheeses / Cheddar / Cottage /Soft /Semi Soft’, the entry “Absent/g” shall be substituted;

(ii)   in the column relating to Coliform Count, the entry against “Test Methods”, shall be substituted with “IS 5401: Part 2/ ISO 4831”;

(iii) in the column relating to Staphylococcus aureus, the entry against “Test Methods” shall be substituted with “ISO 6888-3”;

(iv) in the row relating to ‘Test Methods’, the entry “ISO 16649-2” for the column “Escherichia coli” shall be substituted with “ISO 16649-3”;

(d)   In Table 2(B),

(i)     In the last column, the words “Enterobacter sakazakii” in heading row shall be omitted.

(ii)   In the column relating to Listeria monocytogenes, the entries under “m” for Limit (cfu) against serial no. 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14 shall be substituted with “Absent/25g”;

(e)    After Table 2(B),

(i)     for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines”, the lines starting from “A set (n) of …” and ending with “…three test results” shall be omitted;

(ii)   for Table relating to “Reference Test methods”

(A) in the column (3), against Serial no. 2, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal Method for the Detection and Enumeration of Coliforms – Part - 2 Most Probable Number Technique – IS 5401: Part 2

Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of coliforms — Most Probable Number Technique - ISO 4831”;

(B)  in the column (3), against Serial no. 4, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) — Part 3: Detection and MPN technique for low numbers - ISO 6888-3”;

(C)  in the column (3), against Serial no. 7, for the line starting from “Microbiology of food….” and ending with “…ISO: 16649-2” the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the enumeration of beta-glucuronidase - positive Escherichia coli — Part 3: Detection and most probable number technique using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-D-glucuronide - ISO 16649-3”;

(f)    In Table 3(A), for the row relating to “Method of Analysis” under the column relating to ‘Enterobacteriaceae’ the following shall be substituted, namely, -

“IS 17112: Part 2/ISO 21528-2”;

(g)   In Table 3(B),

(i)     In column (3), for the entry in first row, the word “Salmonella” shall be substituted with the word “Salmonella*”;

(ii)   in the footnote, the following shall be inserted, namely;

“*For high value spices like Saffron, the sample size can be reduced upto 0.5 g but the ratio of the dilution as per ISO 6579-1 has to be maintained. In such case, the result should be expressed as Absent in 0.5g”;

(h)   After Table 3(B),

(i)       for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines”, the lines starting from “Three sets, each…” and ending with “…with specified criteria” shall be omitted;

(ii)   for Table relating to “Reference Test methods”, in the column (3), against Serial No. 3, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae: Part 2 colony - Count Technique - IS 17112: Part 2

Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae - Part 2: Colony - Count Technique - ISO 21528-2”;

(i)     In Table 4(A), for the row relating to “Test Methods” under the column relating to “Enterobacteriaceae” the following shall be substituted, namely, -

“IS 17112: Part 2/ISO 21528-2”;

(j)     In Table 4(B),

(i)     In column (2) relating to “Product description” for the entry against Serial no. 7, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Thermally processed (other than pasteurization at less than 100°C)*”

(ii)   Under the Table, the following footnote shall be inserted, namely;

“*incubation at 37℃ for 10 days and at 55℃ for 7 days is required if thermally processed products are canned”

(k)   After Table 4(B),

(i)     for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines”, the line starting from “A set (n) of …” and ending with “…three test results” shall be omitted;

(ii)   for Table relating to “Reference Test methods” in the column (3), against Serial No. 3, the following shall be substituted, namely, -

“Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae: Part 2 colony - Count Technique - IS 17112: Part 2

Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae - Part 2: Colony - Count Technique - ISO 21528-2”;

(l)     In Table 5(B),

(i)     the column with the heading “Clostridium botulinum” shall be omitted;

(ii)   in the footnote, the following shall be inserted, namely;

“*applicable for poultry products only”;

(m)  After Table 5(B),

(i)     for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines” the words “ISO: 707” shall be substituted with the words “ISO 17728 & ISO 17604”;

(ii)   for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines”, the lines starting from “A set (n) of …” and ending with “…three test results” shall be omitted;

(iii) for Table relating to “Reference Test methods” the row relating to Serial No. 9 shall be omitted.

(n)   In Table 8(A), for the row relating to “Test methods” under the column relating to ‘Enterobacteriaceae’ the following shall be substituted, namely;

“IS 17112: Part 2/ISO 21528-2”;

(o)   After Table 8(B),

(i)     for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines”, the lines starting from “Three sets, each…” and ending with “…with specified criteria” shall be omitted;

(ii)   for Table relating to “Reference Test methods”, in column (3) against Serial No. 2, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of enterobacteriaceae: Part 2 colony - Count Technique - IS 17112: Part 2

Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae - Part 2: Colony - Count Technique - ISO 21528-2”;

(p)   In Table 9(A), for the row relating to “Test Methods” under the column relating to “Enterobacteriaceae count” the following shall be substituted, namely;

“IS 17112: Part 2/ISO 21528-2”;

(q)   After Table 9(B),

(i)     for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines”, the lines starting from “Three sets, each…” and ending with “…with specified criteria” shall be omitted;

(ii)   for Table relating to “Reference Test methods”, in column (3) against Serial no. 1, the following shall be substituted, namely;

“Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of enterobacteriaceae: Part 2 colony - Count Technique - IS 17112: Part 2

Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae - Part 2: Colony - Count Technique - ISO 21528-2”;

(r)     After Table 10(B), for paragraph relating to “For Regulator” under the heading “Sampling Plans and Guidelines”, the lines starting from “Three sets, each…” and ending with “…with the specified criteria” shall be omitted;