FSSAI To Allow Up To 5 Pc Vegetable Fats In Chocolates

New Delhi: Food safety regulator FSSAI has decided to
allow up to 5 per cent vegetable fats and artificial sweetener Isomaltulose in
chocolates, a move likely to benefit importers.

Currently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) allows use of cocoa butter in chocolates and not vegetable fats, whereas international food standards authority Codex permits 5 per cent vegetable fats.

Import and sale of chocolates
containing vegetable fats are not allowed in India. The food safety regulator
has come out with the draft amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Food
Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2016 and sought public views
on the same within 30 days.

As per the proposed amendments, the
FSSAI has allowed use of vegetable fats up to 5 per cent other than cocoa
butter in chocolates. It has also proposed the use of artificial sweetener
Isomaltulose maximum at 50 per cent of the total sugar without adversely
affecting the stability of the product.

The addition of vegetable fats other
than cocoa butter shall not exceed 5 per cent of the finished product, after
deduction of the total weight of any other added edible foodstuffs, without
reducing the minimum contents of cocoa materials, as per the draft amendments.

The regulator said these two
additional ingredients should be mentioned on labels as per the FSSAI
(Packaging & Labelling) Regulations, 2011.

Experts said the use of vegetable fats
in chocolates has been a bone of contention in imported chocolates as number of
companies had their consignments withheld at the ports because of
non-compliance of Indian standards for chocolates.

They said though import and sale of
chocolates containing vegetable fats are not allowed in India, some brands are
selling them without using the term ‘chocolate’ on the packaging.

PTI