'FSSAI order clears hurdle for nutraceutical product approval'

Food regulator FSSAI's recent notification on nutraceuticals will provide relief to health supplement manufacturers and marketers and clears all the hurdles in the approval process, IDMA said today.
Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has restricted enforcement activity against nutraceuticals and health supplement companies to only testing of products till new standards are notified.
"This move of Authority will bring a sigh of relief and take the industry forward which has succumbed to pressure of product approval for the last four years, and this decision now clears the hurdles," Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) said in a statement.

The food regulator also clarified that the products which were launched before the Food Safety and Standards Act came into force in 2011 and others for which approvals were pending as on August 19, 2015, will only be tested for quality and as of now, may not require any approval.
The approval process was discontinued following a Supreme Court order on August 19 last year. In its order, the apex court had questioned the procedure followed for approvals by the food regulator.