Food Safety Standard

Food Product Manufacturing-Operation and Control

Procurement of raw materials:

While procuring and receiving the raw material, the food handler shall ensure that –

Raw materials shall be purchased from reliable and known suppliers. As per Condition of license, every manufacturer, distributor or supplier selling an article of food to manufacturing shall give either separately or in the bill, cash memo or label a warranty in Form E. i.e. Form of Guarantee.
It shall conform to all the Regulations and standards laid down under the Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006.
Records of raw materials & source of procurement shall be maintained in a register for inspection.
All raw materials should be checked for visible deterioration & off- odour and for any foreign matter.
If material is received in tankers (for e.g. milk, oil, water, etc.), it should be checked for seal integrity and mostly dedicated tankers shall be used.
No raw material or ingredient thereof shall be accepted if it is known to contain parasites, undesirable micro-organisms, pesticides, veterinary drugs or toxic items or decomposed or extraneous substances, which would not be reduced to an acceptable level by normal sorting and/or processing.
Raw materials should be purchased in quantities that correspond to storage/preservation capacity of the establishment.
Packaged raw material must be checked for ‘expiry date’/ ‘best before’/ ‘use by date, packaging integrity and storage conditions.

Storage of Raw Materials & Food:

After receiving and accepting the raw material, there comes the need of storage. The storage facilities shall be designed and constructed to avoid cross – contamination during storage, permit adequate maintenance and cleaning and shall avoid pest access and accumulation. Cold Storage facility shall be provided for food that requires being stored below 5°C.

While designing the storage room, segregation shall be there for raw, processed, packaging, rejected, returned or recalled food items, allergen material & distinguishably marked and secured products (hardware & cleaning chemicals). The storage area for raw food shall be separate from the area of work-in-progress, processed, cooked and packaged products. Also, the containers made of non-toxic materials shall be provided for storage of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished / ready to serve products.

While procuring and receiving the raw material, the food handler shall ensure that –

Storage instructions over food packaging should be followed.
Temperature and humidity requisite for respective food materials / products shall be maintained, to enhance shelf life.
FIFO (First In First Out) & FEFO (First Expire First Out) stock rotation system as applicable, shall be followed in storage areas, work-in-progress and processed/cooked or packaged food products.
The food materials shall be stored on racks / pallets, well above the floor level and away from the wall.

Production:

A detailed food safety plan & hygiene requirement to be followed for the manufacturing / processing of different food products listed in the attached table below is provided in the respective annexures.

Product Packaging:

Product packaging prevents contamination, allows food to be transported easily and extends shelf life. Packaging also provides a surface for labelling and identification of products. Packaging materials also need to ensure that food is not contaminated from substances that could migrate from the packaging into food.

The food packaging material shall conform to all the Regulations and standards laid down under the Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006. For primary packaging, only Food grade packaging materials are to be used. The packaging materials or gases where used, shall be non-toxic and it shall not pose a threat to the safety and suitability of food. The packaging material should be free from contamination from physical, chemical & biological hazard.

Packaging- General Requirements:

A utensil or container made of the following materials or metals, when used in the preparation, packaging and storing of food shall be deemed to render it unfit for human consumption: –
1. Containers which are rusty
2. Enamelled containers which have become chipped and rusty
3. Copper or brass containers which are not properly tinned
4. Containers made of aluminium not conforming in chemical composition to IS: 20 specifications for Cast Aluminium and Aluminium Alloy for utensils or IS: 21 specifications for Wrought Aluminium and Aluminium Alloy for utensils.
Containers made of plastic materials used as appliances or receptacles for packing or storing food articles, whether partly or wholly, should conform to the following Indian Standards Specification viz.:

IS: 10146 (Specification for Polyethylene in contact with foodstuffs)
IS: 10142 (Specification for Styrene Polymers in contact with foodstuffs)
IS: 10151 (Specification for Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), in contact with foodstuffs)
IS: 10910 (Specification for Polypropylene in contact with foodstuffs)
IS: 11434 (Specification for Ionomer Resins in contact with foodstuffs)
IS: 11704 Specification for Ethylene Acrylic Acid (EAA) copolymer
IS: 12252 – Specification for Poly alkyleneterephathalates (PET)
IS: 12247 – Specification for Nylon 6 Polymer (ix) IS: 13601 – Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA)
IS: 13576 – Ethylene Metha Acrylic Acid (EMAA)
Tin and plastic containers once used, shall not be re-used for packaging of edible oils and fats

Provided that utensils or containers made of copper though not properly tinned, may be used for the preparation of sugar confectionery or essential oils and mere use of such utensils or containers shall not be deemed to render sugar confectionery or essential oils unfit for human consumption.

Approved Additives:

There are various additives being used in different categories of food products. FSSAI has listed down all these additives which are approved in different food products respectively along with their limits of use. Details regarding the same can be obtained from the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011