FSSAI asks food cos to relabel 'atta', 'maida'; gives time till July 31

Food business operators have been given three more months, till July 31, to change labels of their food products to include English nomenclature for 'atta' and 'maida' as wheat flour and refined wheat flour, respectively, according to the food safety regulator FSSAI.

The deadline to comply with the order expired on April 30. Further extension has been given following a representation by the industry, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in its latest order.

According to the earlier order, food businesses were asked to label 'atta' as whole wheat flour and 'maida' as refined wheat flour wherever it was used singly or as ingredient in food items.

The order had to be issued because the food business operators were using the term 'wheat flour' as English nomenclature for 'maida' on the label of the food products which does not convey the exact nature of ingredient used for manufacturing of various food items to the consumers as well as enforcement officials.

However, in the latest order, the FSSAI has not only given three months' extension for compliance, but also tweaked the order slightly to allow usage of the term 'atta' as wheat flour instead whole wheat flour.

In case the labels are in Devanagiri script, the businesses are allowed to use the Hindi nomenclature 'atta' and maida' for wheat flour and refined wheat flour, respectively.