Ensuring a consistent approach towards food import clearances in the country, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently issued a manual on food import. It is expected to ensure that import clearances at different ports in the country are applied, where there is FSSAI as well as where food imports are regulated by the Customs department on behalf of the country’s apex food regulator.

Earlier this year, FSSAI, in order to keep a check that no unsafe or substandard food was being imported in India, had notified the Food Safety and Standards (Imports) Regulations, 2017, providing a single clearance reference regulation for food import. These regulations laid down the detailed and clear procedure-related licensing of food importers, clearance, storage, inspection and sampling, amenable food labelling, etc.

According to FSSAI, the manual will be useful to authorised officers, especially from the Customs department, as they have many responsibilities, and the availability of this handy manual will help in effective implementation of the import regulations.