- It has been made compulsory for all the existing food business operators to comply with all the provisions of these regulations by the 1st of July 1, 2021
- The notification also provides sampling plans and guidelines
THoD Newsdesk, New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) 8th Amendment Regulations, 2020, related to microbiological requirements for spices and herbs.
It has been made compulsory for all the existing food business operators to comply with all the provisions of these regulations by the 1st of July 1, 2021. As per reports released by the body, two separate tables are provided for pre-market and post-market scenarios for microbiological requirements.
The official notification states that the microbiological standards with respect to the product categories specified in Table-3A (Process Hygiene Criteria) related to aerobic colony count, yeast and mould count, Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus aureus, signal the admissible operations of the production process. But is to be noted that these are not to be used as parameters for releasing the products in the market. These are just indicative values, on which corrective actions are required in order to maintain the hygiene of the process in compliance with food law. These shall be applicable at the end of the manufacturing process.
The Microbiological Standards in Table-3B (Food Safety Criteria) related to salmonella, sulphite reducing clostridia and bacillus cereus, describes the acceptability of a batch/lot. They shall be met in respect of the products at the end of the manufacturing process and the products in the market during their shelf-life.
The notification also provides sampling plans and guidelines. The regulations provide that the sampling should be ensured by a trained person with ‘specialised knowledge’ in microbiology in accordance with the ISO 707 (latest version).
The regulations also particularly mentioned the reference testing methods for parameters including aerobic plate count, yeast and mould count, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Sulfite-reducing bacteria, and bacillus cereus.
