Health Ministry Notifies Amendments to FSSAI Licensing and Registration Regulations to Enhance Ease of Doing Business

📌 Summary:

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notified amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 to rationalise compliance while retaining essential food-safety and traceability measures
• Record-keeping and FIFO/FEFO stock-rotation requirements will now apply only to food manufacturing businesses, where such controls are critical for safety, quality and traceability
• Non-manufacturing food businesses, including retailers, are exempted from these requirements — reducing the compliance burden, especially for small and medium enterprises
• Reforms align with recommendations of the NITI Aayog High-Level Committee on Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms and follow extensive consultations with States/UTs and stakeholders
• Builds on earlier measures: perpetual licences/registrations, revised turnover thresholds, removal of dual compliance for street food vendors, and a risk-based inspection system

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Governance & Social Justice (Health regulation) — risk-based, outcome-oriented regulation, ease of doing business, and balancing compliance relief with food-safety oversight

📝 Prelims Facts:

• FSSAI = Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, under the FSS Act, 2006
• FIFO = First In First Out; FEFO = First Expiry First Out (stock rotation principles)
• Amendment: record-keeping/FIFO-FEFO now mandatory only for manufacturers
• NITI Aayog High-Level Committee on Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms informed the changes

🔑 Key Term: Risk-based regulation — an approach that concentrates compliance requirements and inspections where risks to safety are highest (e.g., manufacturing), while easing them for low-risk activities.