Relief to nutraceutical companies:TET

Notification on manufacturing norms aimed to bring relief to nutraceutical companies: Pawan Agarwal, CEO, NSSAI 

MUMBAI: Nutraceuticals or functional food makers worried by a recent notification of the food regulator mandating strict adherence to manufacturing norms, can heave a sigh of relief as its chief executive Pawan Agarwal has said the notification was intended to give relief to companies that were facing problems with enforcement officials. 

"The intent of this notification was to give relief to those companies who were in the market before 2011 and who were facing problems with enforceme .officials," Agarwal, chief executive of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, said in an interview to ET. 

Agarwal said the authorities have put together the final notification with inputs from all stakeholders, including nutraceuticals makers. Once the separate regulation for nutraceuticals is in place, no product approvals will be required and companies will be free to manufacture on the basis of standards laid down, he said. 

He countered a report that appeared in ET last week, saying major manufacturers had backed the FSSAI notification which addressed their immediate concerns. FSSAI is fully committed to the growth of nutraceuticals and fo growth of nutraceuticals and food supplements industry in the country aimed at providing wholesome food to the citizens, Agarwal said. "We will soon invite nutraceutical companies and relevant associations for discussion on roll­out of the new regulations," he said. The Rs 20,000­crore nutraceuticals industry manufactures health supplements among other things. 

In a notification dated March 30, FSSAI had said till the standards of nutraceuticals, food supplements and health supplements are finally notified, the enforcement activities against such food business operators may be restricted to requirements given in the draft notification on such products.