Appendix B explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Appendix B is the microbiology rulebook behind the product standards. Almost every Chapter 2 standard ends with a line that the product shall conform to the microbiological requirements in Appendix B. The Appendix holds tables by product group, each split into process hygiene criteria (A) and food safety criteria (B), with a sampling plan written as n, c, m and M. Quality assurance heads, laboratories and food business operators can start with FSSAI compliance support when a lab report needs interpreting.
This article reads the text as amended up to 21 October 2024 (FSSAI chapter compendium consolidated to amendment 83; the amendment of 10 July 2025 does not change Appendix B). Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in. A compendium is a reference consolidation; the Gazette text prevails.
A sampling plan has four values. n is the number of units in a sample, c the number allowed to exceed m, m the limit that may be exceeded by up to c units, and M the limit that no unit may exceed (in a 3-class plan). Tables ending in A are process hygiene criteria and tables ending in B are food safety criteria. For regulatory sampling, the notes under several tables require three sets of samples tested in three accredited laboratories, with no retesting or resampling.
The tables
| Table | Product group |
|---|---|
| 1A, 1B | fish and fishery products: hygiene indicator organisms; safety indicator organisms |
| 2 (2A, 2B) | milk and milk products |
| 3A, 3B | spices and herbs: process hygiene criteria; food safety criteria |
| 4A, 4B | fruits and vegetables and their products |
| 5A, 5B | meat and meat products |
| 6A, 6B | baker's yeast |
| 7 | non-carbonated water based beverages |
| 8A, 8B | eggs and egg products |
| 9A, 9B | food grain products |
| 10A, 10B | health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use and other special foods |
| 11A, 11B | neera |
Each table lists product descriptions, and each product row carries the organisms tested and the n, c, m, M values. Product definitions follow the tables. For example, "chilled or frozen finfish" is defined as clean and wholesome finfish handled under good manufacturing practices, and freezing is complete only when the product temperature reaches minus 18 °C or lower at the thermal centre.
Reading the sampling plan
In Tables 8 and 9, the notes define the terms precisely, and the same four letters are used throughout:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| n | number of units comprising a sample |
| c | maximum allowable number of units having counts above m for a 2-class plan, and between m and M for a 3-class plan |
| m | limit that separates unsatisfactory from satisfactory in a 2-class plan, or acceptable from satisfactory in a 3-class plan |
| M | limit that separates unsatisfactory from satisfactory in a 3-class plan; no unit may exceed it |
A few rows exactly as printed in the fish tables:
| Table and product | Organism | n | c | m | M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A, chilled or frozen finfish | Aerobic plate count (cfu/g) | 5 | 3 | 5 x 10 to the power 5 | 1 x 10 to the power 7 |
| 1B, chilled or frozen finfish | Escherichia coli (MPN/g) | 5 | 3 | 11 | 500 |
| 1B, chilled or frozen finfish | Salmonella | 5 | 0 | Absent in 25g | |
| 1B, live bivalve molluscs | Escherichia coli | 5 | 1 | 230 per 100g | 700 per 100g |
For live bivalve molluscs, the hygiene table says no hygiene indicators are currently prescribed. Thermally processed fishery products must be commercially sterile, as established per the APHA method named in the table. The wider fish standards are in our article on fish and fish products, and the histamine sampling plan is in our sister article on histamine in fish.
Process hygiene and food safety criteria
- Process hygiene criteria (Tables with A) test indicator organisms such as aerobic plate count, coliforms, yeast and mould, Enterobacteriaceae and coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus. Results show whether hygiene and process control are working. The "action in case of unsatisfactory result" printed with each table is mainly improvement of hygiene and control of time and temperature along the value chain.
- Food safety criteria (Tables with B) test pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli and, for some products, Clostridium botulinum. Where a table says "Absent/25g", the organism must not be found in the 25 g test portion. A non-compliant food safety result is a food safety failure, not just a hygiene signal.
The notes under Table 8A and 8B set the actions after an unsatisfactory process hygiene result: check and improve process hygiene by implementing the guidelines in Schedule 4 of the Licensing and Registration Regulations and ensure that all food safety criteria are complied with.
Sampling plans and guidelines
The notes under several tables (for example eggs, food grain products and health supplements) divide the rules between the regulator and the food business operator.
For the regulator, sampling is done aseptically at manufacturing units or retail points by a trained person with specialised knowledge of microbiology, following the sampling guidelines and ISO 707. Samples are stored and transported frozen at minus 18 °C (±2 °C) or refrigerated at 2-5 °C as applicable, so that analysis starts within 24 hours of sampling. Preservatives must not be added to sample units. The sample units are taken from the same batch or lot. Three sets, each of n units (so 15 samples if n is 5), are drawn and tested in three different accredited laboratories. The final decision rests on the results of all three laboratories; for food safety criteria, all three must show compliance. There is no provision for retesting or resampling.
For the food business operator, testing is done as appropriate for validation and verification of compliance. The operator decides the sampling and testing frequencies, subject to the minimum prescribed under the Licensing and Registration Regulations. The operator may use analytical methods other than the reference test methods for in-house testing only, and those methods do not apply for regulatory compliance.
Each table closes with reference test methods, such as IS 5402 or ISO 4833 for aerobic plate count and IS 5887 Part 3 or ISO 6579 for Salmonella. The Chapter 2 standards point to these tables; see our articles on definitions and the structure of the Regulations and on the standards for milk, condensed milk, khoa and cream for examples. The overview of microbiological standards for food gives the wider picture.
A practical example
Sea Harvest Exports packs chilled finfish. The quality team samples five units, the n of Table 1A, and counts aerobic plates. No more than three units may exceed 5 x 10 to the power 5 cfu/g, and none may exceed 1 x 10 to the power 7. For Salmonella in Table 1B, none of the five units may show it in 25 g. If a regulator samples the same lot, three sets of five are drawn and tested in three accredited laboratories, and a failed safety result cannot be retested.
Need help with microbiological compliance?
Our team can map each product to its table, check the sampling plan in your testing programme and read a laboratory report against the limits. Start with FSSAI compliance support.
Key takeaways
- Appendix B has tables 1A to 11B for fish, milk, spices and herbs, fruits and vegetables, meat, baker's yeast, beverages, eggs, food grains, special foods and neera.
- A tables are process hygiene criteria; B tables are food safety criteria.
- n, c, m and M define the sampling plan.
- Regulatory sampling uses three sets in three accredited laboratories, with no retesting.
- Food business operators may use other methods for in-house testing only.
Read next
- Regulations 1.1 and 1.2: definitions and the structure of the Regulations
- Regulation 2.6: fish and fish products
- Microbiological standards for food under FSSAI
- Appendix A, part IV: use of food additives tables
Disclaimer: Based on the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 as consolidated in FSSAI's chapter-wise compendium (to amendment 83 of 21 October 2024) and the First Amendment Regulations, 2025, as consulted on fssai.gov.in on 2-3 October 2026. Later notifications and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provisions referred to should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.