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FSSAI Seafood
Know all the regulatory standards outlined by FSSAI for seafood safety
Covers all information on FSSAI safety regulations and consumer safety in India.
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Overview of FSSAI Seafood
- FSSAI regulations safeguard the safety and quality of frozen fish and other frozen foods throughout the supply chain. To achieve this, FSSAI implements stringent standards for frozen foods, including specific regulations for fish and fish products. These standards are designed to maintain nutritional value and prevent contamination. Additionally, FSSAI provides guidelines for proper frozen food storage, emphasizing crucial aspects like temperature control, hygiene practices, and packaging methods to minimize contamination and spoilage.
- Compliance with these regulations is essential for businesses in the frozen food industry to ensure consumer safety and satisfaction. Traceability and cold chain logistics are critical for regulatory compliance and food safety certification. Businesses can uphold the highest health standards by incorporating best practices and risk management strategies.
FSSAI Seafood Product Categories
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) categorises seafood products into various classifications to ensure regulatory compliance and consumer safety. These categories encompass a wide range of products, including fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic organisms. Each category is meticulously defined to cover various forms of processing, packaging, and distribution, ensuring clarity and uniformity in regulatory standards. Here are the major categories:
Fresh and Frozen Seafood
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulates a wide variety of fresh and frozen seafood safety categories to ensure safety and quality. Here are some types:
Fresh FSSAI Seafood category
- Fish: Includes varieties like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and pomfret
- Shellfish: Such as shrimp, prawns, crabs, lobsters, and crayfish
- Mollusks: Including clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops
- Cephalopods: Like squid, octopus, and cuttlefish
- Other seafood: Such as eel, sea urchin, and various types of freshwater fish.
Frozen Seafood
- Fish: A wide range including cod, haddock, tilapia, and catfish
- Shellfish: Including frozen shrimp, crab legs, and lobster tails
- Mollusks: Such as frozen oysters, mussels, and clams
- Prepared seafood products: Fish fillets, breaded shrimp, fish sticks, fish fingers, and seafood mixes
- Specialty items: Frozen sushi-grade fish, smoked salmon, and surimi (imitation crab).
Processed Seafood Products
- Canned Seafood: Canned seafood products like tuna, salmon, sardines, and shellfish are popular choices. They undergo a sterilisation process, ensuring their safety and longevity
- Smoked Seafood: Smoked seafood, such as smoked salmon or mackerel, undergoes a smoking process to enhance flavour and preserve the fish
- Dried Seafood: Dried seafood products include fish, squid, and shrimp, among others. These are typically dehydrated through various methods like sun drying or dehydration machines
- Fish Jerky and Snacks: Fish jerky and snack products are gaining popularity as convenient, healthy snacks. FSSAI regulates these products to ensure they meet safety and quality standards, including limits on additives and contaminants
- Seafood Spreads and Pastes: Products like canned tuna spreads or seafood pastes undergo processing to create convenient spreads or fillings
- Seafood Sauces and Condiments: Sauces and condiments made from seafood, such as fish sauce or shrimp paste, fall under FSSAI regulations for food safety and labelling requirements.
Essential Safety and Quality Standards for Seafood
Purchase only refrigerated fish or those displayed on a thick bed of fresh ice, preferably in a covered case. The colour of fish can vary due to factors like diet, environment, or packaging processes, so freshness shouldn't be judged solely based on colour. Firm flesh, sparkling eyes, a subtle fresh aroma, and odourless red gills are all characteristics of fresh fish. Fillets should be free from discoloration, drying, or darkening around the edges. Shrimp, scallops, and lobster should have clear, pearl-like flesh with minimal odour. Check for time/temperature indicators on packaging for refrigerated seafood to ensure it's stored properly. Previously frozen fish or fillets may lack some characteristics of fresh fish but should still smell fresh and mild, without any fishy or rancid odours.
Food Additives and Preservatives in Seafood
- Antioxidants: BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene), TBHQ (Tertiary butylhydroquinone), and Ascorbic acid
- Acidity Regulators: Citric acid, Sodium citrate, Sodium diacetate, and Phosphoric acid
- Colours: Natural colours like Beetroot red, Annatto extracts, and Synthetic colours like Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow FCF, etc
- Emulsifiers: Lecithin, Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Polysorbates, etc
- Sweeteners: Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucralose, Steviol glycosides, etc
- Flavours:Natural and nature-identical flavours, Artificial flavours
- Stabilisers:Carrageenan, Guar gum, Xanthan gum, etc
- Permitted Preservatives: Sodium benzoate, Potassium benzoate
- Sorbates: Sorbic acid, Potassium sorbate
- Sulphites: Sulphur dioxide, Sodium metabisulphite
- Nitrites: Sodium nitrite, Potassium nitrite.
Hygiene and Handling Standards
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has established rigorous hygiene standards for seafood handling products to guarantee consumer safety. These standards encompass various aspects such as proper storage temperatures, sanitation protocols, and traceability measures throughout the supply chain. They also contain recommendations for keeping seafood processing facilities hygienic and free of contaminants. Adhering to these standards ensures that seafood products meet quality and safety requirements before reaching consumers, minimising the risk of foodborne illnesses and ensuring a healthier food supply.
Addressing Contaminants and Toxins in Seafood
FSSAI Guidelines on Contaminant Levels
FSSAI Contaminant guidelines refers to any substance inadvertently introduced into food during its production, including activities in crop and animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, manufacturing, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport, or storage due to environmental contamination. Chemicals outlined in the monographs of the Indian Pharmacopoeia, when utilised in food, must not contain metal contaminants exceeding the thresholds outlined in the relevant monographs of the Indian Pharmacopoeia currently in effect.
Monitoring and Enforcement Measures
Although standards aid in establishing the necessary benchmarks, strong institutional frameworks and processes are necessary to guarantee adherence to the rules and standards. Food goods, both imported and domestic, are subject to surveillance and inspections as part of an extensive compliance system. Indian governments bear the major responsibility for ensuring compliance.
To fulfill various mandates under the Act, they have appointed Commissioners of Food Safety, notified Adjudicating Officers, Designated Officers, and Food Safety Officers for their respective jurisdictions. All States and Union Territories (UTs) other than Nagaland are issuing food licenses and registrations online thanks to the FSSAI's creation of the Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS).
Food Safety Compliance via Regular Inspections and Sampling (FoSCoRIS) is establishing a large-scale IT infrastructure. Standard compliance matrices would be used during inspections to guarantee uniformity in the methodology of inspections throughout the nation. Food Safety Officers (FSOs) can conduct real-time inspections using the web-based software FoSCoRIS.
It makes advantage of instant geotagging, time stamping, real-time data collection, and many levels of verification when used with handheld devices like tablets and cell phones. All relevant parties, including food companies, food safety officers (FSOs), designated officers (DOs), and state food safety commissioners (FSCs), are brought together by the system through a national IT platform to ensure that process integrity is upheld and that sampling and inspections are carried out in an efficient manner.
Food Safety Officers (FSOs) can utilise the ‘Manual for Food Safety Officers’ as a guide for carrying out their responsibilities to ensure regulatory compliance of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Rules and Regulations enacted under it.
This manual contains regulatory provisions and subject matters related to the inspections, sampling, and surveillance that FSOs are required to conduct. It also covers, to the best of its ability, the duties, responsibilities, accountabilities, and procedures of FSOs, as well as the tools and mechanisms that are currently in use to meet the goals and policies. The handbook will support the implementation of uniformity, consistency, and transparency in local regulatory compliance processes across the nation.
Packaging and Labelling Requirements for Seafood
Packaging Standards for Seafood Products
Standards might define the appropriate seafood packaging and labelling materials, such as food-grade plastics, metals, glass, or suitable packaging films. Guidelines may provide recommendations on storage conditions to uphold the quality and safety of seafood products, including temperature specifications and storage duration. These standards commonly stress the importance of hygiene practices during packaging, encompassing criteria for clean and sanitised packaging equipment, personal food hygiene practices, and facility maintenance.
Labelling Regulations for Consumer Information
‘Best before’ refers to the date that indicates when the food is no longer fully marketable and retains any particular qualities for which claims, either explicit or implied, have been made, under the given storage conditions. If the meal has passed this point, its quality might have decreased but it might still be safe to eat. If the food at any point becomes dangerous, it must not be sold.
'Date of manufacture' designates the moment at which the food becomes the specified product.
The term 'date of packaging' refers to the moment the product is put into the immediate container that will be used for its ultimate sale.
An infant is defined as a youngster under the age of twelve months.
'Lot number,' 'code number,' or 'batch number' represents a numerical or alphabetical identifier, or a combination thereof, preceding terms like 'Lot No,' 'Code,' or 'Batch No,' facilitating tracing during manufacturing and identifying during distribution.
A ‘Multi Piece package’ is defined as a package that includes two or more separately packed or labelled parts of the same product, all of the same quantity, that are meant to be sold at retail either as separate items or as a whole.
Any food that contains any part of an animal, whether whole or in part, such as eggs, freshwater or marine animals, birds, or animal-derived products, is classified as ‘non-vegetarian food.’ Milk and milk products are not included in this category.
Food that has been prepared for direct consumer sale and packaged to prevent tampering is referred to as ‘prepackaged’ or ‘pre-packed food.’
The following labelling process has to be followed:
- Consumers should receive information in a format that aids understanding and enables informed decisions
- Product details, such as serving suggestions, preparation instructions, and storage guidelines, should be available on labels or accessible through various channels
- These channels may include corporate websites, educational initiatives, and commercials.
FSSAI Regulations Specific to Seafood Products
Regulatory Framework for Seafood Safety
India boasts a robust regulatory framework overseeing its 548 seafood units, complemented by world-class facilities within the fish processing sector. These facilities undergo regular inspections and monitoring by various government agencies, as highlighted by the Commerce Ministry on Saturday. This statement addresses recent reports alleging concerns regarding food safety and labour conditions within the Indian shrimp industry.
It highlights that all units have been officially approved by the Export Inspection Council (EIC) and registered with the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), as required by law.
Furthermore, 46 independent pre-processing units are registered under the authority.
The State Fisheries Departments and the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA), in accordance with their respective locations, register shrimp hatcheries and aquaculture farms. In order to improve the aquaculture product traceability system and guarantee compliance with local, state, federal, and international regulatory requirements, such as the US Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), MPEDA is essential in enrolling aquafarms.
India's regulatory bodies regularly monitor production and processing systems and subject them to audits by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Commission, the GAC of China, the MPEDA, the Export Inspection Agency, and many private and certification audits. Pre-processing and processing facilities also follow the US Code of Federal Regulations' Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)-based food safety management system.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of fresh seafood are regulated by FSSAI?
Which processed seafood products fall under FSSAI's guidelines?
Are there specific FSSAI standards for specialty seafood items like shellfish?
What food additives are permitted in seafood by FSSAI?
How does FSSAI ensure hygiene in seafood handling and processing?
What are FSSAI's contaminant level guidelines for seafood?
What packaging standards does FSSAI mandate for seafood products?
What information is required on seafood product labels by FSSAI?
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