Food safety regulator FSSAI on Monday withdrew its recent advisory directing food business operators to remove “A1” and “A2” type markings from packaging of milk and milk products.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it has withdrawn the recommendation for further consultation with stakeholders, which would allow food business operators (FBOs) to continue selling and advertising their products claiming to be ‘A1’ and ‘A2’ type milk.
A1 and A2 milk have different beta-casein protein compositions and vary depending on the breed of cow.
“The recommendation dated August 21, 2024… is withdrawn pending further consultation and engagement with stakeholders,” the regulator said in its new recommendation published on Monday.
of In an advisory dated August 21, FSSAI had asked FBOs to remove the ‘A1’ and ‘A2’ claims from their products.E-commerce platforms have also been instructed to immediately remove these claims from their products and websites.
The regulator had said the labelling of ‘A1’ and ‘A2’ types of milk and milk products was not in compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
After investigation, FSSAI found that the differentiation between A1 and A2 is related to the structure of beta casein protein in milk, but current FSSAI regulations do not recognise this differentiation.
The Aug. 21 advisory also requires FBOs to use up pre-printed labels within six months, with no further extensions allowed.
