India food label requirements
What must appear on food labels in India?
Under the FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, every pre-packaged food sold in India shall carry 15 groups of particulars set out in regulation 5. They are listed below. Net quantity, retail sale price and consumer-care details are set by the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, not by the FSSAI rules. Product-specific warnings in Schedule II and the general presentation rules in regulations 4, 6 and 7 apply on top.
Approach: The 2020 base text comes from FSSAI's consolidated compendium (Version III, 1 July 2022) (FSSAI compendium). I then checked the later FSSAI amendment gazettes and the Legal Metrology rules archive. I couldn't open the newer Version VIII compendium (September 2025) because the FSSAI server didn't respond. Amendment No. 2 (9 September 2022) is not in the FSSAI amendment records I searched.
General rules (regulation 4, compendium pp. 4-5)
- Language: the required particulars shall be in English or Hindi in Devanagari script. Other languages may be added but must not contradict them.
- Presentation: the label must not be false or misleading. It must stay attached to the container. Contents must be clear, indelible and legible.
- Outer wrappers: an outer wrapper displayed for retail sale must repeat all the declarations, unless it is transparent and the inner label can be read through it.
- E-commerce: all mandatory particulars must be shown to the buyer before sale, except batch/lot number, best before, use by, expiry and manufacture/packing dates.
Mandatory particulars (regulation 5, compendium pp. 5-21)
| # | Particular | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name of food | Must show the true nature of the food and be on the front of pack. Use the standardised name where one exists. A brand or fancy name may be added. |
| 2 | List of ingredients | Not needed for single-ingredient foods. Heading "Ingredients", descending order by weight or volume, specific names (with permitted class titles), compound ingredients and added water. Percentages are required for emphasised or characterising ingredients. |
| 3 | Nutrition information | Per 100 g, 100 ml or single pack: energy, protein, carbohydrate, total sugars, added sugars, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and sodium. Also % of RDA per serve and the number of servings. Listed foods are exempt. |
| 4 | Veg/non-veg symbol | Green circle in a square for vegetarian, brown triangle in a square for non-vegetarian. Minimum sizes depend on panel area. Place it near the name or brand on the front of pack. Not required for water, alcoholic beverages, liquid milk, milk powders and honey. |
| 5 | Food additives | Functional class plus specific name or INS number. Flavourings declared as specified. |
| 6 | Name and complete address | Of the brand owner, with a qualifier such as "Manufactured by" or "Marketed by". For imports, also the Indian importer. |
| 7 | FSSAI logo and licence number | Of the brand owner, plus the manufacturer's or packer's licence if different. Fortified and organic foods also carry their logos. |
| 8 | Net quantity, retail sale price, consumer-care details | "as provided in Legal Metrology Act, 2009 ... and the Rules" (see below). |
| 9 | Batch, lot or code number | Required. |
| 10 | Date marking | Date of manufacture or packing plus "Expiry/Use by", grouped together. "Best before" is optional. Shelf life up to 3 months: DD/MM/YY; longer shelf life: month and year. State storage conditions where the date depends on them. Listed foods need no expiry date. |
| 11-12 | Imported foods | Must also meet the FSS (Import) Regulations, 2017. Country of origin is required: where processing changes the 6-digit HS code, the processing country counts as the origin. |
| 13 | Instructions for use | Where applicable, including reconstitution. |
| 14 | Allergens | "Contains..." for gluten cereals, crustacean, milk, egg, fish, nuts, soy, and sulphite at 10 mg/kg or more. "May contain" is optional. |
| 15 | Not-for-consumption retail goods | A black cross symbol (for example pooja water or ghee for diyas). |
Layout:
- Principal display panel (regulation 6): the information goes on the principal display panel, with minimum letter heights by panel area.
- Schedule II declarations (regulation 7): they shall be prominently displayed in letters at least 3 mm high. Packs up to 30 cm² containing sweeteners may use 1 mm.
- Exemptions (regulation 8):
- Packs of 100 cm² or less are exempt from ingredients, batch number, nutrition, additives, licence number and logo, importer address and instructions for use. That information must then appear on the multi-unit package.
- Date of manufacture may be left off packs under 30 cm² and foods with a shelf life of 7 days or less.
Legal Metrology particulars
Rule 6(1) of the 2011 Rules, as originally made, requires on every package:
- the common or generic name [1]
- net quantity in standard units or by number [1]
- month and year of manufacture, packing or import [1]
- retail sale price [2]
The 2017 amendment made three changes:
- For food packages, the name-and-address requirement follows the Food Safety and Standards Act instead. [3]
- It added country of origin for imports. [3]
- The price must be shown as the MRP inclusive of all taxes, for example "MRP Rs. xx.xx (incl. of all taxes)". [3]
Amendments since the July 2022 compendium
- Second Amendment 2022, in force 1 May 2023:
- First Amendment 2025, in force 1 July 2026: new front-of-pack wording for coffee-chicory mixtures, with the coffee and chicory percentages. [5]
- First Amendment 2026, in force 1 July 2027: [6]
- It formally adopts several changes the compendium shows FSSAI had already applied by direction from 1 July 2022: the revised exemptions from nutrition labelling, the logo exemption for packs of 100 cm² or less, and the new non-retail container rules.
- Non-retail containers must show name, FSSAI logo and licence number, date marking, lot number and manufacturer or packer. Ingredients, veg/non-veg and net quantity may instead go in accompanying documents. The container must be identifiable as non-retail.
- The pan masala warning must also be legible or audible in advertisements.
- The fortified-food logo wording is revised.
- First Amendment 2021: the sorbitol laxative warning, revised sweetener warnings, and the "MULTI-SOURCE EDIBLE OIL" front-of-pack declaration with minimum font sizes. [7]
I haven't listed the full Schedule II product-specific declarations. If you tell me the product category, I can pull the ones that apply.
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What changed in FSSAI labelling rules recently?
FSSAI has made two recent amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. The First Amendment Regulations, 2025 (notified 8 August 2025) changed the coffee-chicory front-of-pack declaration and has been in force since 1 July 2026. The First Amendment Regulations, 2026 (notified 24 March 2026) is a larger package covering nutrition-labelling exemptions, logos on small packs, non-retail containers, the fortified-food logo and sweetener and pan masala warnings. It comes into force on 1 July 2027.
Approach: I read the full Gazette texts of the Labelling and Display amendments listed in FSSAI's amendment tracker. One correction to my last answer: Amendment No. 2 (9 September 2022) is in those records, and I summarise it below.
First Amendment Regulations, 2026 (notified 24 March 2026; in force 1 July 2027)
This finalises a draft first published on 30 November 2022. [8]
Nutrition information (regulation 5(3)): [8]
- Infant nutrition products, as defined under the Foods for Infant Nutrition Regulations, 2020, "may not" give per-serve % RDA or the number of servings per pack.
- The exemption for "Raw agricultural minimally processed products such as wheat, rice, cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables and/or products that comprise a single ingredient" is reworded. A definition of "minimally processed" is added: cleaning, grinding, refrigeration, pasteurisation, fermentation, freezing and vacuum-packaging.
- Sub-clause (ii) is omitted.
- Exemption (xiii) now covers "Health supplements, Nutraceuticals and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (FSDU) in tablet, pills and capsule format, with respect to macronutrients, when sources of energy are insignificant."
Small packs (regulation 8): a new regulation 8(1B) says logos "may not be given" on packs of 100 cm² or less, but the information "shall be given on the multiunit packages." [8]
Non-retail containers (regulation 10, rewritten):
- On the container: name, FSSAI logo and licence number, date marking and storage instructions (when required), lot/batch/code number, and manufacturer or packer name and address (with country of origin for imports). [9]
- Label or accompanying documents: the ingredients, veg/non-veg declaration and net quantity, if not on the label, "shall be provided in the accompanying documents" and must be traceable to the food. [9]
- Transport units that cannot carry a label: all the information may go in documents or be sent electronically between food businesses. [9]
- Identification: the container "shall be clearly identifiable" as non-retail, for example "NON-RETAIL CONTAINER - NOT FOR DIRECT SALE TO CONSUMER". [9]
- Legibility: a new general rule says information must be clear, prominent, legible and tamper-evident. [9]
Fortified foods (Schedule I): packs shall carry "fortified with ………… (name of the fortificant)" and the logo. They may also carry the tag line "Sampoorna Poshan Swasth Jeevan". [9]
Warnings (Schedule II): [10]
- The pan masala warning "shall be clearly legible or audible in advertisements".
- The aspartame/acesulfame warning now reads "Not recommended for phenylketonurics; for children; pregnant or lactating women".
- Information "may not" need repeating for combinations of sweeteners.
- "Pregnant and lactating mothers" becomes "pregnant or lactating women" throughout.
First Amendment Regulations, 2025 (notified 8 August 2025; in force 1 July 2026)
Schedule II paragraph 2.2 is replaced. Coffee-chicory mixtures must declare on the front of the pack "COFFEE BLENDED WITH CHICORY THIS MIXTURE CONTAINS COFFEE …..%, CHICORY …..%" (or the same in a "PERCENT" layout). Instant products must instead declare "INSTANT COFFEE-CHICORY MIXTURE MADE FROM BLENDS OF COFFEE AND CHICORY" with the percentages. [11][12]
Earlier: the two 2022 amendments
First Amendment 2022 (9 September 2022), in force on publication: [13]
- Saturated and trans fat need only be declared if total fat is above 0.5%.
- Cholesterol is required only for foods with animal-origin fat and total fat above 0.5%.
- The "DD/MM/YY" date format may also be used for shelf life over three months.
- The gluten allergen declaration exempts wheat-based glucose syrups and maltodextrins, barley glucose syrups and cereals used for distillates. The proviso is that the gluten "shall not be more than 20 mg/kg".
Further changes in the same amendment: [14]
- A revised Table I sets letter heights by principal display panel area.
- Declarations on the crowns or closures of returnable glass bottles may be as small as 1 mm.
- Date of manufacture and use-by/expiry dates may be left off packs under 30 cm², but must appear on the multi-unit package.
Second Amendment 2022 (11 October 2022), in force 1 May 2023: the pan masala warning "must cover 50% of front-of-pack". It also added bread naming rules, for example whole wheat bread needs at least 75% whole wheat flour and multigrain bread at least 20% non-wheat grains. [15]
The 2026 notification states that the 8 August 2025 notification was the most recent amendment before it. [10]
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