Complete FSSAI Guidelines for Food Business 2025

Last Updated on December 18, 2024 by DesignerPeople

The Covid-19 pandemic has a massive lead challenge for food supply chains worldwide to ensure uninterrupted food supply to consumers without the risk of the virus, is making industry heads think.

Hence, sustaining trust and consumer confidence in the safety as well as availability of food is very important as today customers are more aware of what they are consuming.

There is one body which ensures you to maintain that standard in food safety is FSSAI it provides the security of food products, and it is essentially a food safety certificate circulated by the food authority in India. The FSSAI is a legal body that delivers a food license to all food business in India.

It is a mandate that they all must follow all the rules and regulations of FSSAI for food quality control.

All the manufacturers, traders, restaurants, grocery shops, importers and exporters, many more units in the food industry are eligible for issuing FSSAI Licence.

WHAT IS FSSAI?

FSSAI = FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.

The FSSAI is established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India. The FSSAI body must protect and promote public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety. Source: Wikipedia

OBJECTIVE OF FSSAI 

• To establish the standards and practices, this will assure consumers interest and adhere to the highest degree of integrity.
• It protects, promotes public health through supervision and regulation of food safety.
• It helps in building the capacity of stakeholders for active participation in food hygiene and safety
• The useful information allows customers to make correct decisions regarding what they want to consume
• The FSSAI structure aligns organised and defined responsibility to each food business operators.

“FSSAI’s mandate to ensure safe and wholesome food for the country, as the importance of food hygiene and safety has never been more as we navigate through these unprecedented times of COVID-19.”

Which Registration FSSAI should I Apply For?

Broadly FSSAI is divided into certificate and license depending upon the level of annual turnover and size of the company. There are three types of FSSAI and who are eligible for which type of class let us understand below.

Who is Eligible for FSSAI?

In short words, the one who is directly or indirectly associated with food products which can be from roadside vendors to a 5-star hotel needs FSSAI.

There are three different types of FSSAI which are assigned to the company based on their annual turnover.

1. BASIC REGISTRATION –BELOW 12 LAKH TURNOVER –APPLY FOR REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE ONLY 

The State license is for companies having annual turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh. The State Government issues it, and you must have operations in only one state. The maximum tenure of state license is five years, and the minimum is one year.

Examples: Medium food businesses, manufactures, storage units, retailers, distributors and transporters.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

• Photo ID (By government authority)
• Passport size photo
• Authority letter

Government fees- 100 INR

2. STATE LICENSE –ABOVE 12 LAKH BELOW 20 CR TURNOVER –APPLY FOR FSSAI State license ONLY 

The State license is for companies having annual turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh. The State Government issues it, and you must have operations in only one state. The maximum tenure of state license is five years, and the minimum is one year.

Examples: Medium food businesses, manufactures, storage units, retailers, distributors and transporters.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

• Copy of Aadhaar card/Voter identity card of partners/director/proprietor
• Electricity/Water bill (Business Place)
• List of directors with their contact details and address
• Proof of possession of premises
• Partnership deed/affidavit of proprietorship/MOA&AOA
• NOC & Copy of license from producers (Mandatory for re-labours and re-packers only)
• Declaration form
• Authority letter
• Food safety management system plan or certificate

Government Fees -5000+ INR depend on documentation 

Also read: What is Brand Story? and How it Works as Marketing Tool

3. CENTRAL LICENSE –ABOVE 20 CR TURNOVER –APPLY FOR FSSAI CENTRAL LICENSE ONLY

The central licence is for units whose annual turnover is higher than 20 crores. The central government issues it, and its highest tenure is five years, and the minimum is for one year.

Examples: Food businesses like importers, large manufacturing units, airports, central government agencies, seaports.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

• Copy of Aadhaar card/Voter identity card of proprietor/Directors
• Electricity /water bill(Business place)
• All directors with full address and contact
• Proof of possession of premises
• Partnership deed/affidavit of proprietorship/MOA&AOA
• NOC & Copy of license from the manufacturer
• Declaration form
• Authority letter
• Food safety management system plan or certificate

Government Fees- 5000+ INR Depend on documentation 

PROCESS OF FSSAI REGISTRATION (For businesses below 12 Lakh turnovers)

Step 1. The registration of FSSAI initiated by filling Form A application which is worth of 100 INR to food and safety department

Step 2. Once Form A is submitted to the department, it can be rejected or accepted in the phase of 7 days from the date of receipt of application. If it is rejected, it has to intimate to the applicant through writing.

Step 3. If the application is approved, then the department will grant an issue for inspection with seven days, inspection is ordered within seven days.

Step 4. After the inspection, the grand registration certificate with the registration number and the photo of the applicant.

Step 5. Food business operators have to prominently display the certificate of registration at the place of business during the business hours.

NOTE: If there is no response within seven days of receipt of the application and a period of 30 days after inspection order, then food business owner may start his/her business.

FOOD LABEL INSTRUCTION:

A systematic pre-packaged food label is not only legally mandatory but also keeps the customer informed while making a purchase decision. It will help them to store and use it safely without mislead.

Food label should allow people to plan when they will consume it – all of which help to reduce food wastage.

Today customers are more invested in nutritional information, especially as the number of food-related diseases and health problems are on the rise, so make sure your food label is communicating a correct message with customers.

If you are a pre-packaged food company then you must include the following on its labels:

• The name of the product with true representation and no false claims
• The list of ingredients in descending order of weight
• The nutritional information (Facts upfronts) along with percentage details
• Instructions/Direction of cooking or usage or product description
• Manufacturing dates, address, marketed details, MRP and expiry date
• Storage conditions should be correctly mentioned to maintain the same taste, texture, aroma and feel.
• Origin and contact details (customer care) will always ensure trust in your brand
• Allergic and caution messages should be displayed to avoid any concerns after consumption
• Brand story which will create your distinct identity and increases brand recall value
• Veg and non-veg icon along with badges which represent for some unique information
• FSSAI Number and barcode is mandatory

Are you looking for complete FSSAI Guidelines for Food Business?

Here we have provided complete FSSAI Guidelines for Food Business so you can start your food business in the right way. We have everything you need to start up your business, from starting your food processing license to understanding the importance of food safety.

DesignerPeople strives to make the entire process of starting and running a food business as easy as possible. That’s why we have detailed FSSAI Guidelines, a comprehensive food safety education program, and helpful resources like FAQs and sample documents.

Get started today by downloading our free guide!

WHO WE ARE ?

DesignerPeople is a food packaging design agency in Delhi NCR, with 17+ years of rich experience. Along with excellent packaging design, we also focus on the feasibility of design in the market hence as a responsible design agency, we abide FSSAI as well as FDA rules and regulations.

Hence our prime objective is to bring in designs which will communicate effectively with the target audience and keep them informed about their food which they are consuming.

Our experienced team along with their capabilities will help you in attaining compliance with FSSAI Guidelines and requirements. With our strong technical standards, along with our extensive inspection, testing, factory analysis, and certifications is the process of complying in FSSAI Norms.

You can connect us to know more about FSSAI based packaging designs we will be happy to design one for you.

Author: Anush Malik

Being a strategist’s head and a long term visionary personality aims to achieve excellence in branding, packaging and digital marketing field. My 15 years of design experience and masters degree ais my strength which keeps me motivated and keep me going positively. I have participated in extensive branding design conquests in India, USA, Australia and New Zealand with winning zeal. My objective is to encourage start-ups and hence involves actively in the articles which will act as a productive intake of knowledge for them. Do connect me personally via my LinkedIn and I love to share my expertise with you.