FSSAI has reviewed the packaging and labelling regulations for blended vegetable oil. The country’s apex food regulator has decided to further elaborate the condition with which the labelling is to be done by the FBOs (food business operators) for blended vegetable oil, wherin FSSAI has decided to trifurcate the packaging requirements and the font size.

According to the new notification, for pack sizes less than one litre, the font size of the label declaration blended edible vegetable oil, shall not be less than 3mm with the length of declaration statement as 35mm minimum and for label declaration Name and Nature of edible vegetable oil.....% by weight, the font size shall not be less than 2mm.  

For pack size one litre to below five litre, the font size of the label declaration blended edible vegetable oil shall not be less than 4mm with the length of declaration statement as 45mm minimum and for label declaration Name and Nature of edible vegetable oil.....% by weight, the font size shall not be less than 2.5mm.

And for pack size five litre and above, the font size of the label declaration blended edible vegetable oil shall not be less than 10 mm and for label declaration Name and Nature of edible vegetable oil.....% by weight, the font size shall not be less than 3mm.

FBOs were also asked to write a declaration in bold capital letters along with the name of the product on front of pack, stating NOT TO BE SOLD LOOSE.

Earlier, the requirement was that the FBOs to include name and nature of edible vegetable oil along with % by weight of all the oils used in blend with a universal font size of not less than 5mm.

The notice stated that it was done after stakeholders requested FSSAI and described the difficulties in adhering with the provisions of the previous notification. The new notification, meanwhile, has been made operational immediately.

However, the enforcement with respect to the new notification shall commence six months after it is published in the final notification in the Gazette of India.