Guide
FSSAI labelling: what must appear on a packaged food label
India's packaged food labelling rules sit in the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, as subsequently amended. This is a practical walkthrough of the nutrition-related requirements for a food business operator preparing artwork. It is a summary, not legal advice — always check the current text on the FSSAI regulations page, since amendments are issued regularly.
1. The mandatory declarations
A pre-packaged food label generally has to carry all of the following:
- Name of the food
- List of ingredients in descending order of composition by weight
- Nutritional information
- Veg / non-veg declaration symbol (green or brown-red mark)
- Declaration regarding food additives, by class name and INS number
- Name and complete address of the manufacturer, packer or importer
- Net quantity
- Lot / code / batch identification
- Date of manufacture or packing and best-before / use-by date
- Country of origin for imported food
- Instructions for use, where needed
- FSSAI licence number with the FSSAI logo
2. The nutrition panel
The nutrition information block is where most artwork gets rejected. It must present:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Per 100 g / 100 ml | Always required, so consumers can compare products. |
| Per serving | With the serving size stated, plus the number of servings in the pack. |
| Energy | In kilocalories (kcal). |
| Protein, carbohydrate, fat | In grams. Carbohydrate with total sugars shown. |
| Added sugars | Declared separately from total sugars. |
| Saturated fat and trans fat | Declared separately, in grams. Industrial trans fat limits apply in addition to labelling. |
| Sodium | Declared in milligrams, not as salt equivalent. |
| % RDA per serving | Contribution to the recommended dietary allowance, shown in bold. |
RDA percentages are calculated against ICMR-NIN reference values for an average adult on a 2,000 kcal diet.
3. Front-of-pack indicators
Front-of-pack labelling highlights nutrients of concern — energy, total sugar, saturated fat and sodium — so a shopper can read the pack in a second rather than a minute. Our labels render these indicators alongside the full panel. FSSAI's front-of-pack framework has gone through several draft iterations, so treat any rating shown as indicative and confirm the current requirement before print.
4. Allergen declarations
Where a product contains or may contain allergens, they must be declared clearly. The commonly declared groups include cereals containing gluten, crustacea, fish, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk and milk products, and sulphites above the specified threshold. Declare what is genuinely present — an unnecessary "may contain" is not a safe default, it is a shrunken market.
5. Nutrition claims
Claims such as "high in fibre", "low fat" or "sugar-free" are only permitted when the product meets the defined threshold for that claim. A claim that is technically true but meaningless for the food — "sugar-free" on an edible oil — invites scrutiny without helping the shopper. Our generator suppresses claims that do not clear the threshold or do not apply to the food category.
6. Getting your numbers
For a regulatory filing, the safest source is an analysis from a NABL-accredited laboratory — see our directory of NABL labs. For development, reformulation and pre-checks, a calculated label from published composition data is faster and far cheaper. Our methodology page explains exactly how those calculations are done and where they are less certain. Common questions are answered in the FAQ, and you can produce a panel in a couple of minutes with the FSSAI label generator.
Source: Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, as amended, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. This page is a plain-language summary and is not legal advice.