FSSAI is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. It licenses food businesses in India and sets Indian food standards. It matters for export because an Indian business handling food for export needs an FSSAI licence, but FSSAI standards do not decide whether the goods may enter your country.
Your own country's food law does that. So check the licence, and write your specification to your own rules.
What FSSAI does
FSSAI sits under India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It licenses and registers food businesses, sets standards for food sold in India, and regulates food imported into India. Food processors, packers, storage operators and exporters all fall within its licensing system.
FSSAI has a basic registration for very small food businesses, and state and central licences for larger ones. Exporters are generally expected to hold a central licence. The rules on which type applies can change, so check the current position on the FSSAI website, or ask your supplier which type it holds and why.
Why the licence matters to you
- It is a legal requirement for a food exporter. A supplier without one should not be shipping food.
- The licence names specific premises. Check that it covers the site where your goods are cleaned and packed, not only an office.
- It lists the kinds of business activity covered. Check that processing or export is among them.
- It has a validity date. Check that it will still be valid at the time of shipment.
- Its details can be checked through FSSAI's online licence search.
Why FSSAI standards are not your standard
Indian standards are written for food sold in India. Your country sets its own maximum residue limits, contaminant limits, microbiological criteria and labelling rules. They can be stricter, or simply different.
Ethylene oxide is a clear example. Its use on food is not permitted in the EU, and EU limits are set so low that even traces fail. A supplier meeting its domestic obligations can still ship goods that fail in Europe. So your specification must name your limits and your test methods. Read how to write a good specification and how to read a lab certificate.
Where your own import checks come in
When the goods reach your border, your authorities check them against your rules. Depending on the product and the market, that may mean document checks, a health or phytosanitary certificate, and sampling. An FSSAI licence number is not a substitute for any of these. Plan your documents and tests for your market from the start.
What to ask your supplier for
- A copy of the current FSSAI licence for the processing site.
- The legal name on it, which should match the contract and invoice.
- Any food safety certification you require, and its scope.
- Lab reports against your country's limits, not Indian standards.
How we help
We check the FSSAI licence against the site we audit and write your specification to the rules of your market. Samples are tested against those limits at NABL-accredited labs. Start with a free sourcing review.