BIS certification mandatory for infant food items, orders government

In a bid to make infant food items safe and check the menace of adulteration, the government has made it mandatory for companies to follow the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a notification asking the companies to follow the standards and that no food items will be allowed to be sold without BIS certification.

The new rule will come into effect from April 1, 2023.

The decision is likely to benefit companies like Nestle and Abbott making food and drink for children.

As per the new rule, no person shall manufacture, sell or display food items of children without BIS certification.

Earlier, the FSSAI had banned the sale and advertisement of junk food within a radius of 50 meters from school canteens and school boundaries. Food items that are high in salt and sugar (HFSS) cannot be sold to school children within 50 meters of the school canteen or mess premises or hostel kitchen or school premises.

BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto BIS.