Listen to Story India's food regulatory body has withdrawn its recent advisory that directed food businesses to remove claims regarding A1 and A2 types of milk and milk products from packaging. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (Fssai) said the advisory was retracted to allow for more discussions with stakeholders. This means that food business operators (FBOs) can continue to market and sell products with A1 and A2 milk claims for the time being .
In a new advisory issued on August 26, the regulator announced, "The advisory dated August 21, 2024, stands withdrawn for further consultation and engagement with stakeholders." The original advisory from August 21 had instructed food businesses to remove all A1 and A2 claims from their products. E-commerce platforms were also ordered to eliminate these claims from product listings and websites immediately.
Declaring these labels "misleading", the food regular said that this can confuse consumers. The regulator argued that claims regarding A1 and A2 milk and milk products do not align with the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. Upon examination, Fssai found that the A1 and A2 differentiation is related to the structure of beta-casein protein in milk.
However, current regulations do not officially recognise this distinction. The August 21 advisory also required companies to exhaust pre-printed labels within six months, with no extensions to be granted. WHAT ARE A1 AND A2 MILK PRODUCTS? A1 and A2 are categories of milk products that differ in the type of protein (known as casein) found in them.
For example, an A2 ghee means that the ghee was sourced from milk which contained A2 beta-casein in it. The A2 beta-casein depends on the cow breed. While regular packaged milk contains both A1 and A2 proteins in them, milk which contains A2 protein is milder and can be better tolerated by people with a sensitive gut.
(With inputs from PTI).
