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FSSAI move eases compliance burden for food traders
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Tuesday, 07 July, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Anurag More, Mumbai
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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) latest amendments are expected to substantially reduce the administrative burden on food traders and simplify day-to-day operations.
Industry leaders said the latest reforms strike a balance between easing procedural requirements and reinforcing the responsibility of food businesses to maintain high standards of safety and quality.
FSSAI has introduced significant amendments to its licensing and registration regulations, providing major compliance relief to small and medium-sized food businesses by exempting non-manufacturing food traders from maintaining daily inventory records.
Under the revised regulations, grocery stores, retailers, wholesalers and distributors engaged exclusively in the sale of food products—without any manufacturing or processing activity—will no longer be required to maintain daily stock registers under the "First In, First Out" (FIFO) or "First Expiry, First Out" (FEFO) inventory management systems.
To formalise the change, FSSAI has inserted a provision in Schedule 2 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, clarifying that the requirement to maintain daily inventory records does not apply to non-manufacturing food businesses.
In a related amendment, the regulator has revised Regulation 5.2.5 under Schedule 4 to explicitly exempt retailers from FIFO and FEFO storage requirements. According to FSSAI, the reforms are intended to improve the ease of doing business by removing unnecessary compliance obligations while maintaining robust food safety standards.
Shankar Thakkar, National President of the All-India Edible Oil Traders Federation and National Secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), welcomed the move, calling it a significant step towards reducing the compliance burden on retailers.
"The government has rightly limited this relaxation to retail traders who are not involved in manufacturing. Food processing units, factories and manufacturers will continue to maintain detailed production and batch records to ensure consumer safety and food quality remain uncompromised," Thakkar said.
He noted that the latest amendments build on earlier reforms introduced by FSSAI following recommendations from NITI Aayog to create a more business-friendly regulatory framework. These include replacing the recurring renewal of food licences with lifetime validity, subject to prescribed conditions, increasing the annual turnover threshold for basic registration to reduce compliance requirements for smaller businesses, and eliminating duplicate regulations affecting roadside street vendors.
Puneet Davar, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tropolite, said compliance should be viewed as the starting point rather than the end goal.
"Compliance should always be viewed as the baseline, while long-term success is built on consistently exceeding consumer expectations through ingredient integrity, traceability, responsible sourcing, innovation, stringent hygiene practices and robust food safety systems. The time and resources saved through streamlined compliance present a valuable opportunity for businesses to invest in product innovation, operational excellence, workforce development and enhanced customer experiences," Davar said.
Neeraj Seth, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Trufrost & Butler, echoed similar sentiments, emphasising that while procedural requirements have been eased, the fundamentals of food safety remain unchanged.
"Hygiene discipline, temperature integrity, traceability and well-trained teams continue to be non-negotiable for any responsible food business. The operational time saved from simplified compliance can now be redirected towards process optimisation, employee development and enhancing customer experience—investments that directly improve operational efficiency and business performance," Seth said.
He added that dependable refrigeration systems and technology-driven monitoring would continue to play a critical role in maintaining cold chain integrity, operational uptime and consistent product quality.
Legal experts also welcomed the amendments while cautioning that the exemption does not reduce the legal responsibilities of food businesses.
Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner at KS Legal & Associates, described the changes as a pragmatic reform that appropriately distinguishes between traders and manufacturers.
"In my view, this is one of the more sensible regulatory changes introduced by the FSSAI in recent years because compliance should never become an end in itself. A trader who merely buys and sells packaged food products is fundamentally different from a manufacturer who controls production, processing and quality. Imposing identical record-keeping obligations on both categories creates avoidable compliance costs without necessarily improving consumer safety," Chandwani said.
She stressed that the exemption should not be interpreted as a relaxation of accountability.
"The legal responsibility to ensure that food sold is compliant with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the regulations framed by FSSAI continues to rest with every food business operator. If a trader knowingly deals in unsafe, misbranded or non-compliant products, the absence of a daily inventory requirement will not shield them from prosecution or regulatory action," she added.
According to Chandwani, the success of the reforms will ultimately depend on whether they reduce regulatory red tape while preserving effective traceability during food safety investigations.
"If implemented correctly, it strikes a better balance between ease of doing business and consumer protection, which is ultimately what modern regulation should achieve," she said.
Amit Anand, Managing Director of Apis India Ltd, said the reforms recognise the distinct role played by India's vast network of food traders.
"The Indian food business is powered by millions of small traders, distributors, wholesalers and retailers who connect manufacturers with consumers every day. FSSAI's decision to exempt these businesses from daily inventory requirements is a practical and timely reform. Reducing the regulatory burden on businesses that are not engaged in manufacturing does not mean less oversight; it means more targeted regulation focused where it matters most—at the point of production. The move supports a healthier and more compliant ecosystem for companies like ours that work closely with trade partners across the country. We hope this marks the beginning of a broader compliance rationalisation across the food and beverage value chain," Anand said.
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