Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in a recent notification has restricted its administration activities against nutraceuticals and health supplement companies. It will now be only testing the products till new standards are notified.
A big relief for health supplement manufacturers, the notification has cleared up all the obstacles in the approval process.
“This move of Authority will bring a sigh of relief and take the industry forward which has succumbed to pressure of product approval for the last four years, and this decision now clears the hurdles,” Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) mentioned in a statement, quoted by PTI as saying.
The food regulator also made it clear that the products launched before the Food Safety and Standards Act came into action in 2011 and those for which approvals were pending as on August 19, 2015, were only tested for quality and till now, approval might not be required.
The apex court, however, in its order, had questioned the procedure which resulted in an approval by the food regulator.