Gujarat FDCA recommends guidelines for nutraceutical manufacturing

FSSAI to come up with strict guidelines to regulate the sector

In the wake of rising consumption of nutraceutical products and dietary supplements that are manufactured not only by pharmaceutical companies, but also ayurvedic manufacturers etc, the Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) has submitted a list of recommendations to the Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) that could become a part of the guidelines for the approval of such products.

Gujarat is a major manufacturing hub for nutraceutical products and dietary supplements. As H G Koshia explained, “A set of guidelines are necessary to issue a no-objection-certificate (NoC) before any company can start manufacturing. As such there are no specific guidelines for the nutraceutical and dietary supplements segment.”

He was a part of the special task force constituted by the FSSAI to regulate these food items.

For that matter, the Gujarat FDCA conducted a raid recently and seized misbranded product manufactured without product approval from FSSAI.

Dietary supplements worth Rs 6.9 lakh were seized after drawing samples. These were feroshield tablets and folate Mpt tablets manufactured by Mascol Lifescience in Ahmedabad.

Koshia further informed that there would be deliberations and discussions at the  FSSAI on the recommendations and eventually issue a set of guidelines. These recommendations basically highlight the key regulatory requirements that are needed to regulate this market.

Koshia said that any company that is manufacturing products under this category need to declare the exact chemical composition of their product as some ingredients can have health implications for consumers.