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TMI Blog2014 (8) TMI 1038X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , if the goods are found to be in conformity with their description as available on the package, as well as the product description sheet provided by the petitioner. - W.P. (C) 2644/ 2014 - - - Dated:- 13-8-2014 - MR. VIBHU BAKHRU, J. For the Petitioner : Mr Sandeep Sethi, Sr. Advocate with Mr Arjun Pall and Ms Ishita Bhardwaj For the Respondents : Mr Mehmood Pracha for FSSAI JUDGMENT VIBHU BAKHRU, J 1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner seeking quashing of an email/communication dated 22.04.2014 (hereinafter referred to as the 'impugned communication') of Technical Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India whereby the petitioner's appeal, challenging the order refusing to grant a No-objection certificate (NOC) to the consignment imported by the petitioner, was rejected on the ground that the said consignment did not comply with the requirements prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011. The petitioner has also sought a direction to respondent no.2 to issue a No-objection certificate (NOC) to the petitioner. 2. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is hereina ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e petitioner was not required to disclose the list of ingredients in terms of the Labelling Regulations. Subsequently, on 02.04.2014, the petitioner filed an appeal before the FSSAI challenging the decision dated 21.02.2014 of the Authorized Officer of refusal to issue NOC. The said appeal was dismissed, by the impugned communication dated 22.04.2014 on the ground that the petitioner had failed to comply with the mandatory labelling requirement as prescribed under Regulation 2.2.2:2 of the Labelling Regulations and a non-conforming certificate was issued with respect to the goods. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner has filed the present petition. 7. The only controversy that is required to be addressed is whether Regulation 2.2.2:2 of the Labelling Regulations is applicable, in entirety, to the goods imported by the petitioner. And, whether the labelling on the said goods is compliant with the statutory requirements of the FSS Act. 8. Before proceeding further, it would be necessary to refer to Section 23 of the FSS Act, which reads as under:- 23. Packaging and labelling of foods.-- (1) No person shall manufacture, distribute, sell or expose for sale or despatch or del ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Since, the goods in question are intended for being used in preparation of Yogurt, they would fall within the wide definition of the expression food and its packaging and labelling would require to be compliant with any regulation made in that regard. 11. It is also necessary to note that Section 25(1)(iii) of the FSS Act, inter alia, prohibits import of any article of food in contravention of any other provision of the FSS Act or any rule or regulation made thereunder. 12. Before examining whether the Labelling Regulations are applicable to the goods imported by the petitioner and, if applicable, whether the same have been complied with, it would be necessary to note the nature of the goods in question. The goods are stated to be a blend of strains of lactic acid bacteria, that is used for direct vat inoculation into milk for preparing yogurt and fermented milk products. The label on package describes the goods to be freeze-dried concentrated lactic cultures comprising of lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus along with sucrose and maltodextrin as carriers . 13. It is not disputed by the learned counsel for FSSAI that the goods fall within category 9 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y expected to result (directly or indirectly), in it or its by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such food but does not include contaminants or substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities; 17. A plain reading of the definition of the expression 'Food Additive' indicates that the said expression means a substance which is not normally consumed as food or used as a typical ingredient of food but is a substance which is added to food for the purpose of manufacturing, processing, preparation, treatment etc. and which is reasonably expected to result in it either becoming a component of the food or otherwise affecting its characteristic. The goods imported by the petitioner clearly fall within the definition of food additive. The strain producing lactic acid is not for direct consumption but is required to be added to milk for production of yoghurt and ultimately becomes a component of the said food item. Given the definition of Yogurt, it is undeniable that the goods are permitted food additives. 18. The controversy whether the Labelling Regulations apply to the goods in question has to be con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r personal needs. 22. In my view, the expression 'personal needs' would be determinative of the manner in which the expression 'persons and families' as used in Section 3(1)(f) of the FSS Act ought to be interpreted. The expression 'personal needs' plainly implies personal consumption. The word 'personal', according to Oxford English Dictionary, Fifth Edition, inter alia, means pertaining to, concerning, or affecting a person as an individual (rather than as a member of a group or of the public, or in a professional capacity etc.) . In the given context of food consumption, the expression 'personal needs' of 'persons and families' would only imply needs of individuals. The words 'persons and families' would in the present context mean individuals and families and applying the principle of ejusdem generis, the word 'persons' would exclude any corporate or any juridical entity and only mean natural persons. Plainly, purchase or receipt of food for personal consumption is the operative condition before a person or family, qualify as 'consumer' within the definition of Section 3(1)(f) of the FSS Act. Thus, an i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ell as 'best before date' has been boldly printed on the packing. In addition, the packing discloses the name and address of the manufacturer, the country of origin as well as the net weight. Further, each packet mentions the lot number and also bears a bar code. The product is named YO-MIX 305 LYO 50 DCU . It is also relevant to note that FSSAI had issued a guideline dated 23.03.2012 specifying the labelling information for various kinds of packages of food consignment. In terms of the said guidelines, minimum labelling requirements for pre-packaged or pre- packed food and wholesale packages (including semi finished/intermediary food products which will be further processed to make final product packed as pre-packaged or pre-packed food) were as under:- S. Type of Package Minimum Labelling requirements No. 1. Pre-packaged food or prepacked food including multipiece package 1. Name of food 2. List of ingredients (Not required in case of single ingredient) 3. Nutritional information 4. Name and complete address of the manufacturer 5. Net quantity 6. Lot/code/batch number 7. Date of manufacture ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hysical/chemical specifications Quantitative/Activity standard Test medium: Sterlised reconstituted milk (10% solids) Heated 20 min at 1100 C. Standardised to pH 6.60 Temperature: 420 C Inoculation rate: 20 DCU/100 1 Delta pH: 1.35 Time to reach the delta pH: = 3.5 hours Microbiological specifications Microbiological quality control - standard values and methods Non-lactic acid bacteria 500 CFU/g Enterobacteriaceae 10 CFU/g Yeasts and Moulds 10 CFU/g Enterococci 100 CFU/g Coagulase-positive 10 CFU/g staphylococci Listeria monocytogenes neg. / 25 g Salmonella spp. neg./ 25 g Analytical methods available upon request. 28. Indisputably, this information is sufficient for the FSSAI to test whether the goods in question conform to its description. Accordingly, the impugned communication is set aside and the FSSAI is directed to examine the goods in question and issue a No-objection certificate within a period of 10 days from today, if the goods are found to be in conformity with their description as available on the package, as well as the product description sheet provided by the petitioner. 29. Accordingly, the present petition is allowed in the above terms. The p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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