Regulations 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.
Regulations 1 and 2 of the Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018 give the commencement and the definitions on which every claim rule rests. They define an advertisement widely, separate nutrition claims from health claims, and bring marketers, including e-platforms, within the Regulations.
The text is read as amended up to 13 December 2022 (FSSAI Compendium Version IV dated 14.12.2022). FSSAI compendia are reference consolidations and the Gazette text prevails. Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in. Brands that make claims on packs or online can start from FSSAI label compliance.
An "advertisement" includes any audio or visual publicity made by light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet or website, and includes a notice, circular, label, wrapper or other document. A "claim" is any representation that states, suggests or implies that a food has particular qualities. Food business operators had to comply by 1 July 2019. A "marketer" includes advertisers, direct marketers and e-platforms.
Regulation 1: commencement
Regulation 1(2) brings the Regulations into force on publication in the Official Gazette, and says the food business operator "shall comply with all the provisions of these regulations by 1st July, 2019". The principal Regulations were notified on 19 November 2018 and amended three times: by the notifications of 9 October 2020, 30 August 2022 and 13 December 2022.
Regulation 2: the definitions
Advertising and claims
| Clause | Term | Printed meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (b) | advertisement | any audio or visual publicity, representation or pronouncement made by means of any light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet or website, including through any notice, circular, label, wrapper or other documents |
| (d) | claim | any representation, printed, oral, audio or visual, that states, suggests or implies that a food has particular qualities relating to its origin, nutritional properties, nature, processing, composition or otherwise |
| (i) | marketer | persons or companies, including advertisers and direct marketers, including e-platforms, who or on whose behalf marketing communications are published to promote products or influence consumer behaviour |
| (j) | marketing communications | advertising and other techniques such as promotions, sponsorships and direct marketing, interpreted broadly, produced by or on behalf of marketers primarily to promote products or influence consumer behaviour |
| (f) | equivalence claims | claims that attempt to promote the equality in value, amount and importance of one food attribute to another |
| (m) | non-addition claim | a claim that an ingredient or additive has not been added to a food, directly or indirectly, where its presence or addition is permitted and consumers would normally expect to find it |
Two features stand out. The definition of advertisement includes the label and the wrapper, so a claim on the pack is an advertisement as well as a labelling matter. And a claim is any representation that "states, suggests, or implies", so words, images and implications all count.
The claim families
Health claim (clause (h)) is any representation that states, suggests or implies that a relationship exists between a food or a constituent and health. It has three sub-types: a nutrient function claim (the physiological role of the nutrient in growth, development and normal functions), an other function claim (specific beneficial effects of consumption, in the context of the total diet, on a function or on modifying or preserving health), and a reduction of disease risk claim (a claim that consumption, in the context of total diet, reduces the risk of developing a disease or health related condition).
The Explanation to the third sub-type says "reduction of disease risk" means significantly altering major risk factors for a disease or health related condition, and that the presentation must ensure, through appropriate language and reference to other risk factors, that consumers do not interpret such claims as prevention claims.
Nutrition claim (clause (l)) is any representation that a food has particular nutritional properties, including energy value and the content of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and other permitted listed nutrients. It may be a nutrient content claim (which directly or indirectly describes the level of a nutrient, for example "contains or source of", "high in", "rich in", "low in") or a nutrient comparative claim (which compares the nutrient levels or energy value of two or more foods, for example "reduced", "less than", "fewer", "increased", "more than").
Other terms
- balanced diet (c): a diet containing all essential macro and micro nutrients in optimum quantities and in appropriate proportions that meet the requirements.
- dietary fiber (e): carbohydrate polymers with a degree of polymerisation not lower than three which are not hydrolysed by the endogenous enzymes in the small intestine of humans, of three kinds: naturally occurring, obtained from food raw material by physical, enzymatic or chemical means, or synthetic.
- fat (g): total lipids including saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans fat, with an Explanation defining each by its double-bond structure.
- nutrient (k): a constituent of food which provides energy, has specific metabolic or physiological functions, or is needed for growth, development and maintenance of healthy life.
- recommended dietary allowances (n): the average daily dietary nutrient intake level sufficient to meet the requirement of nearly all (97 to 98 per cent.) healthy individuals in a particular life stage and gender group; the values are those in the current ICMR Nutrient Requirements and Recommended Dietary Allowances for Indians, and, if no Indian value exists, those in Codex or World Health Organization guidelines.
- sugars (o): all monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and so on) and disaccharides (maltose, sucrose, lactose and so on).
Words not defined here take their meaning from the Act, rules or regulations (regulation 2(2)).
An invented example: Vanshika Foods sells a breakfast cereal and promotes it through its website, a social media post and a cartoon on the box. All three are "advertisements" under clause (b), and the claims "high in fibre" and "lower in sugar than our earlier recipe" are a nutrient content claim and a nutrient comparative claim respectively under clause (l). If an online marketplace lists the cereal and carries Vanshika's promotional text, the e-platform falls within "marketer" in clause (i) when it publishes marketing communications for the purpose of promoting products.
Map of the rest of the Regulations
Regulations 3 and 4 set the general principles (general principles for claims). Regulation 5 and Schedule I deal with nutrition claims (nutrition claims). Regulation 6 covers non-addition claims (non-addition claims). Regulation 7 and Schedules II to IV cover health claims (health claims). Regulations 8 to 10 cover dietary, conditional and prohibited claims (article). Regulations 11 and 12 cover approval (approval of claims), and regulations 13 to 15 cover redressal and corrective advertisement (misleading claims). Schedule V on words such as "natural" and "fresh" has its own article (natural, fresh, pure).
The Act's own rule is in section 24 of the FSS Act on advertising restrictions, and the overview post is health and nutritional claims on food labels. The Regulations also say, in regulation 3, that advertisements and claims for infant food follow the Infant Milk Substitutes Act, 1992.
Need help with a claim review?
Before a campaign or a new pack goes out, each claim should be placed in a family above and checked against the matching conditions. Our FSSAI label compliance service can review claims on packs, websites and marketplace listings.
Key takeaways
- "Advertisement" is wide: any audio or visual publicity, including labels and wrappers, in print, electronic media, internet or website.
- A "claim" states, suggests or implies particular qualities of the food.
- Health claims have three sub-types; nutrition claims have two.
- "Marketer" includes advertisers, direct marketers and e-platforms.
- Compliance date: 1 July 2019.
Read next
- Regulations 3 and 4: general principles for claims
- Regulation 5 and Schedule I: nutrition claims
- Health and nutritional claims on food labels
- Section 24, FSS Act: restrictions on food advertising
Disclaimer: Based on the FSSAI regulations named above as consolidated in FSSAI's compendium versions or as published in the Gazette, with the later notifications the article names (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.