The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Fifth Amendment Regulations, 2021, to include the definition of raw edible oils. According to the notified regulations, “Raw edible oils” are obtained by mechanical procedures e.g., expelling and pressing, with or without application of heat. The expelled/pressed oil may be purified by washing with water, settling, filtering and centrifuging. No processing aid shall be used. Such oils are fit for human consumption and they shall conform to the provisions mentioned under sub-regulation 2.2.1 prescribed for specific vegetable oil except the standards laid down under regulation 2.2.1 (16). Besides, the regulations fixed the refractive index of Coconut Oil at “1.4480- 1.4500”. The food business operators were asked to comply with all the provisions of these regulations by June 1, 2022.
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